As we pack our bags for the weekend (and try to escape to the most nationalistic bit of Scotland – friendly advice please…), we leave you with the new track by Neko Case which is taken from her forthcoming album ‘Hell-On’ which is due out June 1 via the ANTI label and features appearances from (in no particular order) Beth Ditto, k.d. Lang, AC Newman, Eric Bachmann, Kelly Hogan, Doug Gillard, Laura Veirs and Joey Burns. “That lot” as Alan Partridge would say. ‘Curse of the I-5 Corridor’ is an epic seven-minute affair and features some rather lovely vocals from Mark Lanegan. Have a good one dear readers.
It is only with the closing track here that you’d know that HTK is a trained opera singer, the rest of the time she is belting out garage rock like No Room for Jesus or immersing herself in good old country music as on her straight-ahead take on Old Flames Can’t Hold a Candle to You. Whatever she does, she does with conviction, never shying away from raw emotion; whether it’s the Breeder’s like Teratoma or the feral rock and roll of Lot’s Wife, she doesn’t mind shredding her vocal chords for the cause.