There are some things in this world that you can always count on. I talked about one of them a few days ago - the Edge's guitar playing. Even if everything else goes wrong - bad songwriting, bad production (as it all did on Pop), you can count on his guitar saving the day. Similarly, I can say without reservation that I will always be astounded by the voice of Neko Case. She could sing the phone book accompanied by nails on a chalkboard and it would still be beautiful.
Fortunately, songwriting and musical innovation have never been much of a problem for her. She already nailed the idea of southern-Gothic alt-country on 2002's Blacklisted and 2006's stunning Fox Confessor Brings The Flood. Where does she go from here? Does she try to do a pop record and get fame alongside Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood?
Well, no. On her new release, Middle Cyclone, things actually get weirder. If fact, the album ends with 30 minutes of crickets chirping - thank God we have iTunes to edit stuff like this off.
"This Tornado Loves You" uses a fluttering guitar rhythm while comparing obsessive love with the devastation of a tornado. "The Next Time You Say Forever" is a love ballad that turns ugly with regret and anger. "I'm An Animal" is a mid-tempo rock song that wouldn't be out of place on a U2 or R.E.M. album; it made me want to dust off the first two New Pornographer records.
The bare "Middle Cyclone" brings her voice to the front with only and acoustic guitar and toy piano behind it, which "Don't Forget Me" uses an entire piano orchestra. The instrumentation on this album is consistently innovative and exciting and the subject matter explores the darkness of human relationships - right now she's a likely candidate for "Tom Waits of the next generation".
This isn't the best record in her cannon, but it's nice to see her trying to expand. She is blessed with one of the greatest female voices in modern music, but she's also trying to do something with it. Let's hope she has a few more like this one left in her.
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