★★★★
“I think we should make a record together.” This email from k.d. lang to Neko Case and Laura Veirs was the single spark that lit the flame ofcase/lang/veirs.
And yet, these three perform together on this debut effort as if they have been doing so for years.
By triangulating the sheer force and resonance of their individual voices, the group manage to create something that’s among the most powerful and captivating of their combined careers – and that is no mean feat when one looks at the body of work within that particular canon. Each artist brings bits and pieces from their corners of the folk-rock spectrum – the stabs of strings and the slow-waltz swoon of ‘Honey And Smoke’ are vintage Lang, with ‘Delirium’ harkening back to Case’s Middle Cyclone era and Veirs taking the wheel on the infectious ‘Best Kept Secret’. That’s not even touching the all-in efforts of the stunning opener ‘Atomic Number’ or the choral ‘I Want To Be Here’, in which the trio truly exemplify the best of their respective worlds.
Forget supergroup stigma – this is one of 2016’s must-hears.
