Peter Case - Beeline (2002)

After a yearlong abstinence from writing in the wake of his father's death, Case returned with Beeline, a collection of songs marked mainly by their indifferent quality. The low-budget production suggests that at least one of the goals here is to maintain Case's credibility as an off-center artist. In the end, though, this only contributes to a derivative quality, particularly on tracks like "It's Cold Inside," which evokes the grimy minimalism of Tom Waits without capturing any of his intensity; even the catchy chorus of "If You Got a Light to Shine" draws a little too transparently from antecedent folk material. The lineup is notable for the presence of the artist's son, Joshua Case, who contributes competent guitar parts and a few superfluous electronic effects; beyond that, there's little to distinguish Bee Line from more insightful, wry, and far brighter highlights in the Case catalog.