My week of indolence and
relaxation is over. Even so, this week holds a lot of social engagements as
well as the inevitable catch up that is always required after you leave your
office untouched for a week. The time off did its magic though; I’m feeling
relaxed and carefree despite having plenty to do.
Disc 745 is….The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight. The Harder I Fight, the More
I Love You
Artist: Neko Case
Year of Release: 2013
What’s up with the Cover? Neko prepares to fight off some animated eels
with the help of an animated sword (naturally). Like so many fantasy
sword-maidens before her, Neko has decided to enter battle wearing some sort of
shirt/underwear combination.
How I Came To Know It: I’ve liked everything I’ve heard
from Neko Case so this was just me buying her new album without a second
thought.
How It Stacks Up: I have eight Neko Case albums. “The Worse Things
Get, etc.” is a good one up against a strong field. I put it somewhere in the
middle. I’ll say fourth.
Ratings: 4 stars
A few years ago I got heavily into Neko Case and
since that time I’ve been champing at the bit to review one of her albums.
Finally, the day has arrived, in the form of her most recent release, The Worse
Things Get, the Harder I Fight. The Harder I Fight, the More I Love You” – and
I won’t be typing that again.
Despite the ridiculous title, “The Worse Things Get…”
is a quality entry into the discography of an artist that consistently wows me
with both her songwriting and the power of her voice.
First – that voice. I’ve mentioned it before on
reviews for New Pornographers records, where Case is sadly underemployed. On
“The Worse Things Get…” as with her previous solo efforts, she is able to
unleash its power for a full record.
Big and brassy, Case’s voice is a force of nature. She
is like a chorus of bells, all in perfect tune, ringing off the walls of the
room, rich and glorious. You’d think it was divinely inspired, except that Case’s
voice is so deep and grounded it clearly has its origins here on earth.
The production decisions on “The Worse Things Get…” show
Case off to full effect. The album has an echo-like quality that is reminiscent
of Daniel Lanois, except stripped down to its bare essentials.
The album had me thinking of how Nick Cave has put
his records together recently; rich lyrics hanging bright against sparse arrangements,
each word dripped with greater import, if for no other reason than everything
drives you to listen to them.
This comes together on “Nearly Midnight, Honolulu” a song about the casual cruelty some
mothers pass along to their children. For all those people who have mothers who
never loved you, this song is for you. I am lucky to have a great mom who loves
me to the end of the earth, but “Nearly
Midnight, Honolulu” lets us peek into the unfortunate world of people who
aren’t so lucky without having to live there.
Thematically, the album also reminded me a lot of
Jenny Lewis’ recent record “The Voyager”.
Like Lewis, Case is a now-established female singer who has enjoyed the
shared fame of a band, as well as the individual stardom that can leave you
feeling both exposed and empowered at the same time. “I’m From Nowhere” speaks to Case’s refusal to be gender stereotyped
in her success:
“I was surprised
When you called me a lady
Cause I'm still not so sure that
that's what I wanna be
Cause I remember the 80's
And I remember its puffy sleeves
You say I'm lucky to be here,
Then maybe you can take this over
And I'll gladly wear the pants
into the next century
Past the scanners with ease.”
In some places, Case over-reaches, such as on “Where Did I Leave That Fire?” which has
overly clever lyrics as well as an electronically-generated effect designed to
sound like water but that is just distracting. Even on this song I couldn’t get
too angry; Case almost pulls it off and besides, I could listen to her sing the
alphabet and enjoy it.
My copy of the album is the ‘special edition’ CD
which is known for having a slightly different cover (on which Neko doesn’t
have a sword to fight off the eels), a bunch of amateur ‘art’ photography in a
booklet which didn’t appeal to me, and three bonus songs.
These songs are a mixed bag. The remake of Robyn
Hitchcock’s “Madonna of the Wasps” is
awesome – better than the original. Case then inexplicably does a new version
of “Magpie to the Morning” which was
on her previous album, “Middle Cyclone.” Here, I preferred the earlier version.
Finally, we have “Yon Ferrets Return”
which at 1:16 feels like underdeveloped filler.
Overall, I could probably live with the regular
version, but even with the extra tracks “The Worse Things Get…” is still only 15
songs and 42 minutes of playing time, and never feels bloated. This is a record
from an accomplished singer/songwriter who has learned her craft well, and
continues to forge her own musical direction.
Best
tracks: Wild Creatures, Night Still Comes, Man, I’m
From Nowhere, Nearly Midnight Honolulu, Calling Cards, Local Girl,
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