Review: Neko Case, "Middle Cyclone"
Despite Hiccups, Country Chanteuse Sings Loud and Clear
Jun 22, 2009
The human voice is the original musical instrument. Anybody can sing, but not everybody can do it well. It takes practice and natural talent to master tone and pitch, but even then a singer is only as good as the song she is singing.
Fortunately for her fans, Neko Case is accomplished both as a singer and a songwriter. She writes intricate songs about heartbreak and longing, lust and caution, and belts them to the rafters in her smoky, powerful voice.
Best known for her work alongside Canadian artists like Dan Bejar and Carl Newman in The New Pornographers, Virginia-born Case’s solo records stray from the Cars-like power pop of that collective for an alternative country sound akin to Wilco or the Be Good Tanyas. She follows 2006’s very well-received Fox Confessor Brings the Flood with the almost-as-good Middle Cyclone.
A Small Step Backward for Middle Cyclone
While Middle Cyclone is by no means a disappointment, it does at times seem like a bit of a step backwards. Fox Confessor was notable for its unconventional song structures, but on Middle Cyclone Case seems, on occasion, to take the easy route. “People Got a Lotta Nerve,” “Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth,” and “The Pharaohs” never progress beyond traditional pop songs.
Case’s voice does a great deal to keep these songs from becoming outright boring, but songs like “The Next Time You Say ‘Forever’” and “Prison Girls,” unfortunately, come across as half-baked and just aren’t as good as they could have been.
This criticism may seem harsh, but when Case’s back catalog is taken into account - songs as fun as “John Saw That Number,” arresting as “Maybe Sparrow,” or brilliant as “Star Witness” - the above tracks are a bit of a letdown.
Seriously, That Voice...
That said, just about everything else on Middle Cyclone is pretty great. The lilting waltz of the title track is especially poignant behind Case’s evocative and heart-breakingly beautiful lyrics. “I lie ‘cross the path waiting/Just for a chance to be/A spider web trapped in your lashes/For that I would trade you/My empire for ashes,” she sings in a near-whisper.
The music, appropriately, oftentimes brings to mind the movement of cyclones. Album standout “Fever” simulates the unpredictability of a tornado with its multiple meter and tempo shifts, as do the guitars and stuttered vocals of “This Tornado Loves You.”
Well-constructed as they may be, the most important aspect of every one of Case’s songs is her dusky voice. When she howls, “What would make you believe me?” on the album’s opening track the effect is nothing less than spine-chilling.
Despite its shortcomings, Middle Cyclone is not a bad record; it simply doesn’t stand up as well to the fantastic Fox Confessor Brings the Flood.
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