Neko Case's latest album "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood" trickles like a light rain over a campfire.

The sweet tones of Case's fairy-tale lyrics fall between delicate acoustic tones to create an alt-country tour de force. And what makes the album so wonderful is the way the songs slowly grow on the listener each time it's spun.

Released on March 7, this is Case's fourth full-length solo album, but she did put out a live album, "The Tigers Have Spoken," last year and has long been — and still is — a member of the Canadian group The New Pornographers.

Playing the album once is just not doing it justice. The songs are so carefully constructed that they don't sink in without repeated plays. Case's voice obviously has roots in gospel and country, but is unique in the delivery of modern scenes of love and jealousy.

On the title track, Case generates a dreamy road trip with bittersweet lines. She asks the fox confessor "Who married me to these orphaned blues?" Slow bass drum hits and a distorted guitar build an eerie mood behind flowing vocals.

The passion in Case's voice drives all the songs as the musicians around her forge spacious and ghostly riffs.

Case's lyrics are similar to Bob Dylan's on his "Blood on the Tracks" album — the words enter your ears on the first listen, but the songs don't reveal their depth without persistent scrutiny. Case hasn't created the same powerful expression as Dylan, but still winds an emotionally haunting album.

Case does directly associate herself with Dylan in one way, using the talents of keyboard/piano/accordion player Garth Hudson — member of The Band, who backed Dylan for many years — on three of the tracks.

Hudson provides his legendary talents to the first track "Margaret vs. Pauline," playing piano. Lyrically, it's not completely clear, but it seems as if Margaret and Pauline are different sides of Case's personality. "Everything's so easy for Pauline," whereas Margaret "lost three fingers at the cannery."

It's the two sides of Case's psyche — the lucky and the unlucky — with Hudson tapping heartfelt piano lines on the first track.

Besides using the expertise of Hudson's musicianship, Case also utilizes the musical talents of Calexico's Joey Burns and John Convertion on the album.

Overall, it's a magnificently dream like fairy tale that's perfect for listening to while studying or relaxing before a good night's sleep. There's just a strong sense of elegance and complexity that can only be absorbed by attending to the songs in an intimate setting.