The Triangle

Issue date: 3/6/09 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Media Credit: Chuck Myers/KRT

I am one of those people who has a tendency to get extremely into a band or artist and download or buy the entire back catalogue and then not really listen to it ever again - leaving me then with a pile of music and hardly any plays.

Who doesn't do that, though?

A band you enjoy puts out a new record and you like it, but the back catalogue is much better, prompting you to not care anymore.

I can name about 40,000 times that has happened to me!

Naturally, I was interested when my good friend and WKDU Music Director Fred Knittel was ecstatic about the newly released Neko Case album, "Middle Cyclone."

Case is a serious veteran of the indie/alt-country/folk world.

She has over a 10-year career and 14 records with various projects, most notably The New Pornographers.

Case is one of those people who you should talk to if you want to make your record.

Her hauntingly beautiful voice fills every little section of your ears, and slowly sneaks it's way into your brain and then throttles it like it's trying to choke you out.

She is the true veteran of the scene, holding firm with her staunch D.I.Y. ethic.

"Middle Cyclone" starts out strong with "This Tornado Loves You," a more alternative country song, with the perfect amount of singer-songwriter twang in Case's voice.

The record immediately picks up again on track three and throws you face first into awe with "People Got A Lotta Nerve," with the lead guitar filling your head, meandering a path, begging you to follow into the chorus that is nothing but golden.

The following track, "Polar Nettles" is again, nothing but awesome - a perfect example of her brilliance - the song opening with a bare minimum of instrumentation, letting her voice shine through.

As the track picks up a downtrodden feel, Case's voice shines through and gives it a bright light.

The record keeps going with more hauntingly beautiful tracks such as "Vengeance is Sleeping," "Middle Cyclone," "Magpie to the Morning," "I'm An Animal" and "Don't Forget Me."

Most notably, the record ends with a overwhelmingly calming 32 minutes of marsh noises, primarily the sounds of crickets chirping - I don't know about you, but that has to be one of the coolest recordings ever.

I listened to the record twice through before I even knew it was over.

Overall, this record is a perfect example of the true singer-songwriter prowess that is Neko Case.

She has definitely created another amazing record, trumping 2006's "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood."

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