Album Review: Neko Case- The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You

I don’t really remember at what point I started to recognize the name Neko Case. It was probably somewhere between 2004—seeing the live album The Tigers Have Spoken at the Borders Books in Dubuque—and 2006, when Fox Confessor Brings The Flood made her a bit of a household name; or at least got her on the shelves in Target.

Then, of course, there is the double shot of public radio hits from 2009’s Middle Cyclone—the pleading desperation of “This Tornado Loves You,” and the animal-rights anthem, “People Got a Lotta Nerve.” The former, structured around thickly delayed U2-esq guitar work, recalls a dream where an actual tornado showed up at her door, professing its love for her; the latter, catchy because of the refrain—“I’m a man-man-man, man-man-maneater”; and it’s a neat trick—dressing it up in such a listener friendly way that you may not realize what the song is really about.

It’s a trick she replicates on the first single from her latest solo LP, The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You.

That single, the brash and fast paced “Man,” takes a rather blunt look at the role of both men and women in society—“…you didn’t know what a man was until I showed you.” It’s one of the many songs of this set that tackle the idea of gender—gender within the music business, within a relationship dynamic, within society.

The Worse Things Get is surprising, humorous, somber, honest, and fearless—it’s an incredibly profound record. Case is an amazing songwriter; creating ridiculously vivid images with each track.

The pacing of the record only adds to the overall effect it has when you listen. Over the 12 tracks, the songs are sequenced to either build you up, or bring you down. Rarely are there lulls where the album slows, and it is constructed to be a true emotional ride. Musically, Case is known as an “alt country” performer, but she’s able to transcend that tag throughout the course of the record—the baroque instrumentation and power pop of “Man,” the unsettling ambience of “Where Did I Leave That Fire?,” the swoony, woozy twang of “Night Still Comes.”  

Neko Case- "Calling Cards" 

There’s a sad longing that also resonates through much of the album—right from the opening line of the first song, “Wild Creatures,” peaking at one of the best songs of the record, “Calling Cards,” and winding down near the end with the desperate pleading in “Local Girl.”

The real surprise comes at the halfway point of The Worse Things Get—the centerpiece, “Nearly Midnight Honolulu,” is the kind of song that knocks the wind out of you. Performed a capella, Case unassumingly begins the song by recalling an awkward encounter with a mother and child while waiting for an airport shuttle. It’s when what serves as a refrain arrives, and it stops you in your tracks completely.

Neko Case- "Nearly Midnight Honolulu" 

I’m surprised by how much I love this album. Not that I think Neko Case is a shitty performer. Far from it—I’m just not the world’s biggest Neko Case aficionado. But the more listen to The Worse Things Get, the more I am genuinely moved by it.

In reviews of hip-hop records released by young artists (A$AP Ferg), I’ve struggle to find anything identifiable within; but similar to Trouble Will Find Me by The National—this is music made by white people, for white people; but it’s also adult pop music, made for other adults. For all of the subtle humor and punch lines, it's far from a "feel good" record—written during a serious bout of depression. And while it's not a bunch of sad bastard music, the seriousness that helped create it shows through. It’s not afraid to challenge the listener with questions, and it’s not doling out any easy answers. 

The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You is available in standard and deluxe editions, via Anti- records, next week.