Neko Case: Biography

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• Discography
• Biography
• Related Artists

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• Freakwater
• Kelly Hogan
• The Sadies
• Edith Frost
• Sally Timms
• Karen Pernick
• Isobel Heyworth

• Emmylou Harris
• Dusty Springfield
• Scott Walker
• Hank Williams
• Patsy Cline
• The Mekons
• Loretta Lynn

• The Neins Circa
• The Starlings
• Night Canopy
• Yarinda & Friends
• Rilo Kiley
• Kate Tucker

• The Sadies
• Mark Pickerel
• The New Pornographers
• Jon Rauhouse

Born:

Sep 8, 1970 in Alexandria, VA

Genres:

Alt Country Music, Rock Music, Alternative Rock Music, Singer/Songwriter Rock Music, Adult Alternative

Decades Active:

1990's|2000's

Artistic Quality

Medium

Cultural Impact

Low

Popularity

Low

Ratings Guide

Alternative country singer/songwriter Neko Case won a steadily growing cult audience for her smoky, sophisticated vocals and the downcast beauty of her music. Born in Alexandria, VA, Case moved around often as a child, spending the largest part of her youth in Tacoma, WA. She left her parents at age 15, and three years later she started playing drums for several bands around the Northwest's punk rock scene. In 1994, she moved to Vancouver to enter art school, and simultaneously joined the punk group Maow, who released a record on the Mint label. She also played with roots rockers the Weasles, and eventually formed her own backing band, the Boyfriends, which initially featured alumni of the Softies, Zumpano, and Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet. Case released her solo debut, The Virginian, in 1997, delving wholeheartedly into traditional country via a mix of covers and originals. She went on to perform with Carolyn Mark in the old-timey side project the Corn Sisters, and recorded with the Vancouver indie supergroup the New Pornographers. In 1998, Case completed her studies, and with her student visa expired, she returned to Washington and began work on her second solo album. The lovely, melancholy Furnace Room Lullaby was released on Bloodshot Records in 2000 and won high praise from most critics. Case subsequently relocated to Chicago, home of a thriving alt-country scene, and released the home-recorded Canadian Amp EP in 2001. Its moody, late-night ambience carried over to 2002's Blacklisted, a darker yet more eclectic affair; it garnered Case her strongest reviews yet, making many year-end critics' polls, and landed her a tour slot opening for Nick Cave.

- Steve Huey, All Music Guide