Neko Case

With a voice that could make angels weep, it’s hard to believe that Neko Case was too shy to step out from behind the kit of her first band, Maow. Case’s first couple of albums concentrated on country, taking advantage of her soulful, Loretta Lynn-recalling pipes. Last year’s Fox Confessor Brings the Flood tacks gracefully toward the indie pop of her sometime collaborators the New Pornographers. It’s her most masterful release to date, highlighted by the paean to fate’s cruel humor, “Margaret vs. Pauline.”