Neko Case and Her Boyfriends are making their UK debut in a house of God. But a blast of feedback brings them down to earth. "What the fuck is that?" asks Case in an exasperated voice. Probably not the best way to assure a place in heaven, but then Case doesn't pretend to be holy. An ex-punk drummer who realised her heart was a lot more country, a little less rock'n'roll, she has looked back to the good ol' days when Loretta Lynn made it hip to be a country chick and given it a modern twist. Where once your man broke your heart and left you crying, Case is more likely to find him, seduce him - and then drown him.
With her long, red flowing hair and short, red velvet dress, Case isn't your standard country gal. She's strikingly reminiscent of Janis Joplin, shoulders back, eyes skyward, a woman who knows she's good. And then there's the voice. While Case has forsaken the pouty Shania antics, her voice has a warmth and depth shared by Patsy Cline. But where kd lang tried for a sweet copy of country's greatest female vocalist, Case has taken the legacy and run with it. Her voice practically hits the beams of the chapel as it soars, but it's full of the weight of experience, enhanced with the knowingness that Cline made her own.
Case is a honky-tonk angel, make no mistake. "If I'd known heartbreak was coming, I would have set out running," she sings, swaying her hips to the drowsy sound of the steel guitar. Porchlight sees her in angelic mood, backed up by the tender vocals of bandmate Kelly Hogan. An enthusiastic Case gives her some of the spotlight. As a slightly embarrassed Hogan comes centre stage, she begins a cover version of the Magnetic Fields' Papa Was a Rodeo in a surprising moment of country-singer-meets-country-pastiche.
But it's Case who shines the brightest. It's her birthday and she's having a good time. Until it starts to go wrong. First her guitar refuses to cooperate. "For your birthday, your guitar will break," she mutters as she tries to strum for the third time. Then there's that feedback. Soon she can't sing for laughing as she awaits the next disaster. Thankfully, it doesn't appear. Instead she glides into Twist the Knife. "Take my breath from me," she pleads, her problems restricted to men once more. Which is just how it should be.
• Neko Case and Her Boyfriends play the Maze, Nottingham (0115-947 2923), tonight.
