The tigers have spoken

I acknowledge that chances are when I write about music, most of you a) probably have no idea who I'm talking about and b) wouldn't like it if you heard it. It's not that I listen to a lot of outré stuff--far from it, actually--but my guess is that those who pass through here aren't following the indie/alternative/whatever-it's-called-these-days scene.

Consider this post my attempt to tip you off to something you might enjoy. Neko Case could sing the phone book and make it sound good. She's been attracting more mainstream attention in the past few years, but I'm betting her name is unfamiliar to most.



Her new album Middle Cyclone was released today, so now seems like a good time to introduce you to the first single from it, presented above in embedded YouTube video, and get a blog post for the day. (How devious of me.)

I've seen her in concert three times: twice solo--in 2003 (I'm guessing since it was in support of Blacklisted) and 2005--and last year with The New Pornographers. The solo shows were at Little Brothers, a since-closed club that maybe had a capacity of 500. The first required leaving early from a Guided by Voices concert also going on that night to see her in time. She didn't play with a full band and had a lot of reverb on her vocals, which I thought was unnecessary for someone with as strong of a voice as hers. Coincidentally, this guy seems to have attended both of the same concerts.