Neko Case - Middle Cyclone Review

Posted by Paul Hollingsworth on 03.04.2009

Indie music's hottest hottie offers up another helping of country infused pop songs. Does the red-headed samurai-ess slice open the good and juicy bits of her heart this time around?

Middle Cyclone - Neko Case

Track Listing: (iTunes Bonus Track Version)

1. This Tornado Loves You
2. The Next Time You Say "Forever"
3. People Got a Lotta Nerve
4. Polar Nettles
5. Vengeance Is Sleeping
6. Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth
7. Middle Cyclone
8. Fever
9. Magpie to the Morning
10. I'm an Animal
11. Prison Girls
12. Don't Forget Me
13. The Pharoahs
14. Red Tide
15. Marais la nuit
16. People Got a Lotta Nerve (Live at the Hideout)

Back in January, when the music staff was asked to list their most anticipated albums of 2009, the first two which came to mind were Sonic Youth's newest (coming in June...dibs, by the way, 411mania slave drivers,..er...the greatest bosses in the world, also known as Ben and Mitch) and Neko Case's Middle Cyclone . Her previous album, Fox Confessor Brings The Flood is one of the best albums I've ever heard, and I felt confident she wasn't the type of musician who used up all her talent on one perfect album. The cover image, also, while no doubt done with tongue firmly in cheek, just added to my anticipation. Music needs more women with katanas astride old muscle cars, which in this case, is a Mercury Cyclone.

The album opens with "This Tornado Loves You" which immediately sets the standard and blueprint for the rest of the record. The traces of alt-country are still there, but are a bit less obvious. What's left is her voice, one of the purest instruments in all of music. Every line has weight, and like a good short story or novel, it contains many layers. It's easy to get caught up in the sound of Case's voice and forget about the words, but they are there, on a second or third listen, waiting and eager for discovery.

"The Next Time You Say 'Forever'" contains my favorite lines on the whole album. ' The next time you say forever/I will punch you in your face.' It's a simple, direct lyric and the shortness of the song, less than two minutes, reveals a focus on the craft of songwriting that is so often lacking in much of today's music. I'm sure most people can relate to how it feels ' to be the dangling ceiling/from when the roof came crashing down.' It's often lamented that music today has little soul, little timelessness, but I'd put this song against the classics of any previous age and say it is as good or better as any song ever written.

The title track mostly closely resembles the Neko which seemed to effortlessly channel Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline on her previous albums. It's sparse, containing only an acoustic guitar and a bit of music box, which gives her voice room to breathe and grow. The lyrics are personal, full of the sort of details which are specific, but leave the listener room for personal interpretation. Few songwriters have such a gift, and Case uses all her abilities to draw you in until the song is over, leaving you with the feeling you've experienced something very personal, but also very universal.

Two songs, "I'm an Animal" and "Prison Girls" move off into a different direction, which suggests Tori Amos funneled through Case's own unique style. Two covers, Harry Nilsson's "Don't Forget Me" and Sparks' "Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth", are made so completely over that the could be considered Case originals. There's even a hint of her other band, New Pornographers in the first single, "People Got A Lotta Nerve", which is about as perfect a dance power-pop song as can be.

The only misstep is the thirty plus minutes of cricket-chirping called "Marais la nuit." When it started, I thought it was an odd choice for a song's beginning, but after about three minutes in, I realized there was nothing else. It's strange, and comes across as a gigantic filler and waste of time. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to meditate or whatever during the whole of the track, but it screams pretentious navel-gazing at its worst. One more song of Case's voice would have been preferable to this, but thankfully, it's at the end of the album and easily skippable.

Case's backing band, which includes members of her touring band, as well as such luminaries as M. Ward , Sarah Harmer, and Garth Hudson from The Band , create such a lush atmosphere on each track that it sounds more like a band which has been playing together for years. Songwriters and singers such as Case often fail to allow the musicians around them to contribute to the final product, but Case has the good sense to allow those around her to create a broad, but tightly focused, musical palette from which she compliments with her unmatchable lyrics and voice.

The 411: If Joe Strummer had given career advice to a young Patsy Cline, the results would have resembled Neko Case's 2006 album, Fox Confessor Brings The Flood. In the three years since, Case spent time on the road, released a live album, and recharged her writing batteries. The results are a worthy follow-up in every way. The music, featuring a host of indie all-star musicians, is as expansive and expressive as anything released so far this year and Case's lyrics are top-notch examples of pop song craft. If ever an indie musician deserved to achieve mainstream success, then Case is that musician, and this album is the talisman which assures it.

Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]