Neko Case is indie in the strictest sense of the word.
It isn't just because she records for an independent label, though it's true that she eschews the major labels that try to court her. Despite her occasional classification as an alternative country music artist, Case's solo work combines far too many influences to be burdened with such labels.
For example: She took her shirt off during a performance at the venerable Grand Ole Opry auditorium and was subsequently banned from ever returning. In short, she's a strong personality and she's definitely not your usual country singer.
More recently a member of The New Pornographers, she released her first record in 1997. Her new album, Middle Cyclone, features M. Ward (recently of She & Him fame), members of the Pornographers and a number of other guest appearances.
Middle Cyclone is never as fierce as its cover, which features Case wielding a sword and preparing to pounce from the hood of a vintage Mercury Cougar. It's one of the best album covers in recent years, but beyond the Cougar's significance in relation to the constant animal imagery in Case's work, this isn't exactly muscle car music.
Rather, the songs are mostly slow burners and folksy strolls. There's a little bit of country here, but it's evident more in the song structure and lyrical content than the production. Banjo twang and pedal steel are mostly absent.
Case's arrestingly distinctive voice is clearly the centerpiece of this record; it's mixed front and center on all the songs, with the rest of the band supporting her powerful harmonies. Case played a siren on Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and it's easy to understand why. She has a voice that men would follow to their deaths. A voice alone does not make an album, but Case's lyrical abilities are up to the task. Her words fit the music naturally throughout the album, with the words always sounding like extensions of the melody.
On first listen, none of the tracks immediately jump out as standing above the rest, and the relaxed feel of the record might make it easy to overlook. But Middle Cyclone is an album that rewards repeat visits. Rather than being a collection of songs with one or two standouts, each track here is superb.
The combination of melody and lyrics on "Magpie to the Morning" sounds so effortless, the songwriting involved almost escapes unnoticed. " 'Let this be a warning,' says the magpie to the morning/'Don't let this fading summer pass you by' " just rolls from Case's tongue. She rhymes "apex" with "train tracks" later in the song, but unlike many artists who attempt to bend the words to fit the music or vice versa, it never seems forced.
"Red Tide," which is the last actual song on the album, ends things on a more ominous note. The insistent piano and echoing drums, joined by a subdued horn section, feels like slowly building wind picking up before a summer thunderstorm. Case's nimble wordplay dances around a chorus made up simply of "ahhs:" "There's a smell here that stands my hairs on end/Dog hair in the heater, gas pumps and cedar/And jackknifes on the nine/And seabirds choked in fishing line."
The album closes with "Marais La Nuit," 32 minutes of the peeping of swamp frogs. Its ambient evocation of a summer night is strangely pleasing, which accurately sums up the record as a whole. Case's beautiful singing and delicate poetry meld to form a record that's not immediately spectacular, but ultimately extremely rewarding.
Download: "Magpie to the Morning," "Red Tide"
Grade: A
