Album Review: Kelly Hogan - I Like To Keep Myself In Pain

Country and indie rock chanteuse Kelly Hogan has for a decade been best known for being Neko Case's beautifully-voiced foil both onstage and in the studio – as well as singing on a raft of records by a diverse array of acts such as The Waco Bothers, Tortoise, Silkworm and Drive-By Truckers – but now she's decided to step back into the spotlight with I Like To Keep Myself In Pain, her fourth solo album but first since 2001.

Once the project was underway Hogan assembled a killer band – including, amazingly, the legendary Booker T Jones on keys, soul pioneer James Gadson on drums and Gabriel Roth (of Dap-Tones and Sharon Jones fame) on bass. She then approached a slew of songwriters – friends or former workmates from various projects – and solicited this batch of songs, which were then worked up as an ensemble.

Hogan's sultry voice is still the key ingredient here, but the eclectic depth of songwriting talent on display is staggering: highlights include Vic Chesnutt's powerful Ways Of This World, M. Ward's free spirited Daddy's Little Girl, Andrew Bird and Jack Pendarvis' We Can't Have Nice Things, The Handsome Family's The Green Willow Valley and Stephen Merritt's touching Plant White Roses, but there are no real duds amongst these 13 tracks. The rich and malleable canon of Case (to whom Hogan dedicates her sole self-written track, Golden) informs the tone and arrangements, but Hogan is an intuitive interpreter in her own right and this sophisticated and solemn blend of country and soul proves that she's much more than just a pretty background vocal on a clutch of cool records.