new music – middle cyclone

Neko Case’s new album Middle Cyclone, is well titled.  A force of nature, it’s a commanding collection of songs not only showcasing the beauty and strength of her voice, but it’s also an intelligently conceived expression of a bold though suppressed anger of the overlooked feminine psyche.  More overtly, the album is a warning not to overlook the force of mother nature herself; in the closing thirty minutes Case deliberately bends our ears toward the night music of the marsh, the crying of crickets and frogs.  But more than that,  Case alludes to the theme of the feminine being taken for granted, and the resulting cyclone in wait.

Be forewarned, the first half of the record starts with the “tiniest sparks” and the “tenderest sound”, a lovely beginning to the showcase, as it were.  Once the listener reaches “I’m an Animal”, however, the cyclone becomes manifest, a darkening crescendo of turbulence.  With all songs are fairly short and predictably impressive, the absolute masterpiece for me is the longer “Prison Girls”; it’s a funeral dirge for those women eternally unimpressed, who’ve “traded more for cigarettes than I’ve managed to express”.

Middle Cyclone is an hugely solid album with incredible accompaniment.  The sound is awash with the drums, upright bass, piano, and guitars from eternal alt-country ambassadors Howe Gelb, Calexico, and M. Ward.  Case’s own band is impeccable as well, not only highlighting her voice but surrounding it with a fullness that nearly suffocating.  As usual, the lyrics are as haunting as in any prior Neko Case release, too.  Standing equal with Fox Confessor, Middle Cyclone is yet another jewel in Case’s crown.