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Leakin’ Over The Weekend: Dresden Dolls | Neko Case

Sat, Jan 28, 2006 at 3:50 pm Posted in From The Blogosphere

I’ve never been a fan of Dresden Dolls directly, though by proxy I’ve tried to fall in love with them a bit at a time. Their music represents some sort of big, flashy, dramatic and act-y vaudeville-ish interpretaton of music that I reserve for Liza Minelli and Joel Grey in Cabaret. Well, life may be a cabaret, old chum, but even Bob Fosse himself would never have been able to smell what Dresden Dolls were cooking up with their soon-to-be-released album Yes, Virginia. Far flashier and less narrowly produced-sounding than their previous outings, Yes, Virginia seems more like an out-of-control off-Broadway musical than a rock album. John Cameron Mitchell (creator of Hedwig and the Angry Inch) would proudly stand up and tuck his penis pubicly before generously applauding numbers like “Sex Changes”, “Modern Moonlight”, and the pointedly tongue-in-cheek number “Dirty Business”. The subway never gets stuck between stations on this album, and it will undoubtedly propel Dresden Dolls to the most established role amongst the ever-growing crop of what I call “Fosserock” artists.

Neko Case is the busiest woman in rock, it seems. Last year, her band New Pornographers’ album Twin Cinema topped dozens of 2005 year-end lists, and Neko’s lengthy and impressive solo career sees no slowing down. With 2006’s Fox Confessor Brings The Flood, she stays firmly in the neo-hip cowboy boots of a woman standing too close to the edge and reporting back what she sees gracefully. Aside from its deeply honest and direct lyrics, Fox Confessor also showcases a weightier and more diverse musicality from Neko. Unreliant of the monotonic vibrations of previous outings, her new material is fresh, refined and distinct. Songs like “Star Witness” and “Margaret vs. Pauline” come across as alt.country classics. “Dirty Knife” is indicative of the more identifiable Neko Case, immediately registering upon first listen as Neko Case than to draw similarities to other artists. Fox Confessor will be the album that solidifies Neko Case as the pre-eminent female songwriter of this generation. Transcendant of genre and style, the songs continue to grow on me with each listen. I look forward to seeing Neko live in concert again soon.