"Insurgent country" is the phrase coined by the folks at Bloodshot Records to describe the bands on their label. It refers to musicians weaned on punk who have now forayed into the country sphere. Furnace Room Lullaby is ex-punker Neko Case's sophomore country effort, following up last year's much-applauded The Virginian, and it shows a greater dedication to traditional country than some of the other Bloodshot insurgents. The tempos aren't too fast, the melodies are poignant and wistful, the instrumentation and rhythms feel genuine. Case shows that despite her punk background (as a member of Maow) she has an impressive mastery of country. Her songs focus on the oh-so-country topics of lost or unrequited love, and her gentle country twang betrays a truly broken heart on a tracks like "Set Out Running" or "We've Never Met". I'm quite enamored of Ms. Case and her Boyfriends -- I think what they're doing is quite beautiful. There are moments when the music quite transfixes me. On the other hand, Furnace Room Lullaby shows insurgent country's inherent strength/weakness -- it isn't quite real country. A missed warble here and a too-aggressive solo or a less-than-authentic riff there serve to remind you that this is country interpreted from a certain standpoint -- music inspired by country rather than the genuine article. While I may think it's exciting, and believe that it instills freshness into a stale genre (Shania, are you reading?), I can see where purists may take exception.