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 Photo: Jason Creps Neko CaseMiddle Cyclone(Anti-) US release date: 3 March 2009 UK release date: Available as import By C. T. HeaneyOne of independent music’s most visible pin-up girls, Neko Case has all the right attributes to make the indie boys swoon (pale skin! red hair! sultry voice! artistic integrity!), and besides being decidedly easy on the eyes, she’s also easy on the ears. Being both attractive and talented, she is difficult to resist in any setting; her rich, clear-throated trumpet of a voice would be a pleasure to behold even with the worst of cacophonies accompanying her. Middle Cyclone disappoints for nearly every aspect of it, save for Case’s voice (and the riotous cover artwork), and is puzzlingly substandard. This proves all the more perplexing given the album features a smorgasbord of distinguished guest musicians, including members of Calexico, the Sadies, the New Pornographers (of course) and Lilys, as well as M. Ward and the Band’s Garth Hudson. Sonically, Case continues to branch out from the ever-so-slight experimentation she flirted with on her last studio album, 2006’s Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. While it worked to varying degrees on that album, here it fizzles, consistently marring the fragile beauty of the basic elements of Case’s sound—frugal drums, ringing guitars and, of course, her own siren twang. Midway through the title track, a music box plays a ragged melody while the guitar stubbornly strums along to its own initial rhythm, giving the impression the piano simply lags behind. Though clearly intentional, it’s also grating. Likewise, the weird synthesizer-sounding solo (actually a MIDI saxophone, played by Los Lobos member Steve Berlin) that slithers through the middle of “Polar Nettles” completely upsets the song’s flow, and its continued presence later in the tune makes listening a chore. A warbly guitar opens “Fever” and awkwardly abandons ship a minute in for a new rhythm while the old one bleeds out underneath; meanwhile, sour guitar notes pepper the remainder of the song, giving it a slapdash sense of cohesiveness, if one can even call it that. “Fever”, along with “Prison Girls” and “The Pharaohs”, have unfortunate shambolic endings, collapsing into chaos and/or wackiness with no redeeming effect. Part of the impetus for adding all of these unusual textures, tones and asides is surely to inject some humor into Case’s often-deadpan approach, but she accomplished this much more effectively with sly lyrics and charm in previous efforts, like “South Tacoma Way” and “Timber”. “Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth”, a Sparks cover, simply feels out of place, even with her stylistic transformation (featuring prominent cello and ‘60s-pop gang harmonies reminiscent of the Hollies or the Mamas & Papas). “Magpie to the Morning” has no quirks, but ends up sounding more or less like a Norah Jones song. Jones, like Case, has a great voice, yet much of her musical output classifies as underwhelming: It’s quiet, pleasing and pretty, but ultimately undistinguished. A killer set of pipes can’t always make up for second-rate songs. The highlights scatter thinly throughout the disc. Album opener, “This Tornado Loves You”, is a wonderful mid-tempo country-pop romp; “The Next Time You Say Forever” features one of the few baubles on the record that actually works: A backmasked toybox plays a tinny melody to introduce the tune, sounding very Icelandic as it does; a cover of Nilsson’s “Don’t Forget Me” is unexpectedly excellent; and the closer, “Red Tide”, spookily conjures up images of fear smelt and death seen, with chilling pedal-point guitar and gravelly sax. It’s too bad every song on Middle Cyclone doesn’t have the lightning intensity and knife-edged lyrics of its last track. “I’m a ma-ma-man eater / An’ still you’re surprise-prise-prised when I eat ya”, she declares in lead single “People Got a Lotta Nerve”. A jangling, Jayhawks-y guitar melody and strong verse harmonies can’t save this stuttered dud of a lyric, which says little on the subject Hall & Oates and Nelly Furtado hadn’t already covered. Despite a similarly silly metaphor, “I’m an Animal” seems rather promising, but the song suffers from being just too short to gain any real traction. It begins with organ pedal and ends with a lovely guitar figuration, but the rest of the song would need a good four minutes to develop into something interesting, and Case can’t spare the time. She has to fill the rest of the album with cricket chirps—32 minutes of them—trailing off the end of the album as the final track, “Marais la Nuit”. Though a sweet sentiment that gives the listener a window into the ambiance of the barn where Case did some of the songwriting and recording of the album, the end result sounds like a yoga-relaxation cassette, and my Sounds of Nature tapes are in a box with my snap bracelets, pogs, and VHS copy of Disorderlies in the darkest, dankest corner of my basement. Some will find the odd twists and tics gracing Middle Cyclone exhilarating and will hail it, like her 2006 release Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, as a defining document from the New Weird America. However, this disjointed collection of tattered ditties pales in comparison to the haunted American gothic soundscapes Case painted on Furnace Room Lullaby and Blacklisted. The starkness and austerity of those two albums were its chief virtues, creating an aura of preciousness that ringed the songs like a halo. Hanging all manner of gewgaws upon them like a cheap Christmas tree destroys that presence of feeling—like daubing Case herself with bright red lipstick, purple eye shadow and thick globules of mascara. Sometimes, beauty is best left unadorned. — 3 March 2009
 Related ArticlesNeko Case: 24 April 2009 - ChicagoBy Rory O'Connor29.May.09 Live, the audience gets a glimpse at two very distinct sides of Neko Case; her vocals and their ability to chill to the bone and the woman who delivers them whose charms warm you right back up  Killing Him Didn’t Make Her Love Go Away
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Comments
Just out of curiosity, how many times did you listen before writing this review?
Comment by Michael W. from Seattle, WA — March 3, 2009 @ 2:02 am
“Some will find the odd twists and tics gracing Middle Cyclone exhilarating and will hail it, like her 2006 release Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, as a defining document from the New Weird America.”
The meaning of this sentence is so strange. WHO (with any knowledge of music) would associate Neko Case w/ “New Weird America”? But it’s not even a mere claim of association, but of the (or both) album’s status as “a defining document.”
I think the tired genre you’re looking for here is “alt-country.”
Comment by james from new york — March 3, 2009 @ 6:56 am
I just want to alert regular readers of Popmatters that this reviewer is out of his or her mind.
Those of you who are familiar with Neko’s prior work will be blown away by this fantastic recording. She has never sounded better. Great songs performed with confidence and style.
Those of you who are not familiar with Ms. Case should not be put off by this poor review. I concur that Neko possesses an unearthly beautiful voice. Her backing band is fantastic. The compositions are interesting and I have found myself singing her tunes at random times during the day. It is that memorable.
Listen, I have no problem with calling a turd a turd. This, by far, is no turd.
I think the mere fact that the writer begins the review by commenting on Neko’s looks rather than her skill says it all about this writer’s perspective.
These are the kind of hack reviews that make me question Popmatter’s critical standing in the music world. I used to put this site high on the list, but lately I am beginning to wonder why I even bother visiting at all…
Comment by eastside — March 3, 2009 @ 11:02 am
Are you out of your mind?
This is one of the best albums I’ve heard in a while. Consistently strong from start to finish. It picks up where Fox Confessor left off and is a joy to listen to.
So far this rivals Antony and the Johnson’s album for the top spot on my 2009 list.
Comment by Alex from Brooklyn, NY — March 3, 2009 @ 2:42 pm
I can only imagine that this reveiwer is trying to stand out from the crowd by giving this album such a low score. True it’s not her best, but neither is it middle of the road.
And anyone who feels the need to snark at the idea of “artistic intergrity!” is in the wrong line of work.
Fail on you popmatters.
Comment by Brian Blair from Athens, OH — March 3, 2009 @ 3:22 pm
Oh yeah, forgot to mention the reviewer’s obsession with Neko’s appearance…what’s the relevance there?
Oh that’s right, women are sex objects first, artists second. It’s a damn record, get your hands out of your pants and listen to the damn record.
Comment by Brian Blair from Athens, OH — March 3, 2009 @ 3:25 pm
It’s pretty obvious the reviewer has never listened to Case’s music—unless I’m mistaken in my understanding of the concept of “deadpan”: “I caught his words in my open mouth,/ I gagged and choked and spit them out,/I heard him turn as he did hear,/ My tiny heart beat in his ear—/ I was already running,/ Oh I heard him coming.” Oh, Neko- how DROLL!
I mean, Jesus Christ, listen to the damn music before writing a smug, half-assed review dripping with pretension and written solely to set yourself apart from your equally nauseating, self-serving peers.
My God, I still can’t get over the utter stupidity of the Norah Jones comparison.
Comment by rooney from pittsburgh — March 3, 2009 @ 4:05 pm
Every time a reviewer starts off with talking about the artist’s looks, it always goes downhill from there. It’s true in this case as well.
The review seems so shallow, especially considering the fact that the reviewer kept mentioning Neko’s physical appearence (which has absolutely nothing at all to do with the music). What a weird and awkward review.
Guys and girls, don’t let this superficial review stop you from listening to the album. Unlike C. T. Heaney wants you to believe, there’s a lot more to the Middle Cyclone than just her physical appearence. The album is solid, melodic, completely enjoyable and fits right in with the rest of Neko’s work.
Comment by Jonathan — March 3, 2009 @ 4:20 pm
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Wow. I must’ve been listening to a completely different record than you. I hope you listened to it more than once. This is one of her absolute best. I’m quite shocked at this review after all the great ones I’ve read. Weird.
Comment by Hugo — March 3, 2009 @ 4:31 pm
All relevance and credit this review may have had went out the window by the fourth time Ms. Case’s attractiveness was mentioned. I can understand a dissenting opinion, but one that is clearly driven by deep seated misogyny isn’t really one I am interested in.
Oh, and furthermore, Neko Case could out sing Norah Jones any day of the week. What a terrible comparison.
While we may not all agree with the statement “Middle Cyclone will be one of the best of ‘09”, we can all agree that this review is, to put it in layman’s terms, bullshit.
Comment by Kari from New York, NY — March 3, 2009 @ 4:36 pm
Just for the record, a 5 isn’t a ‘bad’ review. 5 means ‘average’, which for Neko Case is probably better than most artists. She’s set the bar so high and this particular writer doesn’t feel that this work matches the high level of her other work. That’s all. Even the best sometimes do something someone feels is average.
Here’s the guide for a 5:
5 - Average. Decent, but will probably appeal to fans of the artist the most—some good individual tracks, some bad; average songs; work that meets expectations of the artist or genre.
Comment by SysAdmin — March 3, 2009 @ 5:11 pm
I hope I’m not speaking just for myself here, but the problem isn’t the fact Mr. Heaney doesn’t like the record; it’s his clueless, slightly misogynistic review.
Comment by r from pittsburgh — March 3, 2009 @ 5:23 pm
Personally, it’s not the score of 5 that’s weird. It’s the fact that the reviewer mentions Neko’s attractiveness a handful of times. What does that have to do with anything? I mean, the front page of popmatters says this: “Beguiling beauty and powerful pipes can’t save Case’s latest from feeling like a disappointment.”
What does her attractiveness have to do with it? If a guy had made Middle Cyclone, chances are his physical appearence wouldn’t have even been mentioned. It’s the double-standard that’s uncalled for—not the score.
I’m surprised the admin(s) of Popmatters didn’t notice the vague misogyny. Or, maybe they did, but they knew it would spark attention. The latter’s probably more likely.
Comment by Jonathan — March 3, 2009 @ 5:39 pm
I have to say that SysAdmin’s comments are a bit condescending. Only one of the comments even mentions the score. The reviewer gave his opinion, and the commenters are giving theirs. And their annoyance is connected to perceived shallowness and sexism, not a number.
Personally, I’ve heard several albums by Neko Case, and I think this is easily the best.
Comment by Steve from Riverside, CA — March 3, 2009 @ 6:01 pm
Put in my two cents on it. Any time an artist can follow up incredible with awesome, you get my vote:
http://weeklygeekshow.com/2009/03/neko-case-middle-cyclone.php
Comment by Michael W. from Seattle, WA — March 4, 2009 @ 1:50 am
Sorry, but this is a strange, ill-advised review that should not have ever seen the light of day. Where is the editor of popmatters?
Case’s material seems to go right over the head of the reviewer. How old is the reviewer anyway?
Comment by NYC'er — March 6, 2009 @ 1:26 pm
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I gotta agree with Michael W.: “Any time an artist can follow up incredible with awesome, you get my vote”
That pretty much sums it up for me, since I was fully expecting to be at least slightly disappointed trying to follow up Fox Confessor. But the new one is right up there.
Also, average for popmatters is 6,7,8 - no matter what their editors/admins may believe.
CT Heaney can eat it! (just jokes)
Comment by Matt F from North Carolina — March 10, 2009 @ 9:44 am
Borderline insane review that will be even more embarassing when this album shows up on every end of ‘09 Top Ten list.
And taking it a step further, I have every belief that Middle Cyclone will be remembered as one of the best albums of the entire decade.
Comment by ga-gone from ny, ny — March 23, 2009 @ 10:50 pm
This review is the closest to my own opinion of the record. I’ve given it at least 12 listens patiently seeking out the nuance and greatness many listeners are purporting. I just don’t hear it. I think it has a few more highlights than the review author suggests, but it isn’t anywhere near the town of Awesomeville in which Furnace Room and Blacklisted reside.
Comment by Paul from Atlanta — May 1, 2009 @ 1:10 pm