Several years ago, “on a whim”, kd lang emailed Neko Case and Laura Veirs to ask if they’d be interested in working with her. The approach first bore fruit when Case and Lang guested on Veirs’ 2013 album, Warp and Weft, and has now produced this wonderful 14-tracker. Their pure, alternating voices compliment each other perfectly, and when they come together in harmony, the results are glorious. The lush arrangements echo the classy, classic 60s pop of Burt Bacharach and Dusty Springfield, and the songs ooze with romance and stunning imagery – watching the stars “explode until daybreak” and being inspired to “live like I never have before”. Veirs’ Song for Judee – about 70s singer Judee Sill, who died of a drug overdose – is a touching lament for a lost soul, and Behind the Armory explores vulnerability to dazzling effect. Terrific stuff.
