Neko Case – Middle Cyclone (album review)
Although I’ve only reviewed one of her albums over the course of my many years of writing, I’ve always counted myself as a fan of Neko Case. I’ve seen her play live twice (once with a small backing band of only pedal steel and upright bass and another with a full lineup) and she didn’t disappoint either time, somehow hitting every single note as if it were effortless while thrilling with her singular singing voice. She’s certainly not a studio creation.
One of the reasons I’ve only reviewed one of her albums to date was that because while I really enjoyed certain songs on all of her releases, as a whole they never quite grabbed me. That has changed with Middle Cyclone, however, as I feel like she’s made an incredible step forwards in terms of songwriting. Although the differences are subtle, multiple listens make it seem that to my ears it’s at least structurally speaking one of her least accessible works. There are a couple songs that unfold with more traditional verses and choruses, but in many (most?) cases she just starts a song and then spins in any number of directions while at the same time incorporating the widest range of instrumentation to date.
Case inhabits a sort of middle-ground in terms of genres that has probably always made it hard for her to truly break through in a way that she probably should have by now. Her songs aren’t quite glossy enough for the country crowd (although she has released a somewhat watered-down concert recording of an appearance at Austin City Limits) and a lot of the indie crowd simply hasn’t paid enough attention to her for some reason or another. At any rate, I’m going to do my best to make that change by highly recommending this incredibly-repeatable release.
As always, her words weave wonderful worlds filled with mythology, animals, and human observations that seem to really tap into a primal energy. “Polar Nettles” swirls through a sort of smoke-filled back alley drift as Case sings of the ‘Sistine Chapel painted with a Gatling gun’ while she compares herself to the force-of-nature title during several songs while “Prison Girls” finds her vividly describing her love of ‘long shadows and your gunpowder eyes.’
Even though it’s not an original, her cover of Sparks’ “Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth” is a perfect example of Case bringing in some subtle augmentations to her sound as a string quartet and gospel-style choir punctuate the 2-minute song in all the right places. Needless to say, it’s one of many that begs instant and often replay.
“Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth” – Neko Case
On the other side of things, album-closer “Red Tide” ramps things up with a multiple pianos rumbling the same melodies as her band kicks up the volume even more. Saxophones bleat and everyone pours it on in yet another song that runs under 3 minutes but packs a punch of much longer.
“Red Tide” – Neko Case
In fact, other than a nearly half-hour final track which is nothing more than ambient sounds recorded outside her Vermont household, Middle Cyclone finds 14 songs running by in a lean 40 minutes. If you haven’t yet listened to anything by Neko Case, I would highly recommend starting here. It’s not quite as immediate as some of her previous work, but it has enough depth that I’ve found new things on each of my 10-plus listens.
January 3rd, 2010 at 8:58 pm
[...] Neko Case – Middle Cyclone (Anti) I’ve been listening to Neko Case for years now and have even seen her in concert twice [...]