Neko Case has established herself as a formidable songstress among music cognoscenti -- an incredible singer whose sound has continued to blossom from her early countrified days of paying tribute to Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline (Neko Case and the Boyfriends) and her work with Canadian indie-rock band The New Pornographers. And while she originally based herself and worked with musicians out of the Pacific Northwest she did a few year stint immersing herself in the American alt-country scene basing herself in Chicago and also worked with members of such southwest bands as Giant Sand and Calexico. As time went on Case's dark-ish country-noir has toned down twang and became more refined, crossing genres that has earned her both critical acclaim and a good measure of popular success. And while Case's songwriting has developed to read more like passages from a novel instead of country lyrics it's her gorgeous voice (and what she does with it in her song arrangements) that carries the day. Dramatic, gutsy, mysterious and powerful, Neko Case's presence is forthright and passionate, and she should knock the collective socks off High Sierra.