Neko

Neko Case

Hell-On

Anti

Case’s first album in five years finds her in a haunted frame of mind; haunted about the past and about people that were in her life. The ballad “Sleep All Summer,” about lost lovers, appears here as a duet between Case and Eric Bachman, a cover of a song by Bachman's band, Crooked Fingers. It works very well as a duet.

"Gumball Blue,"co-written by Case and AC Newman, does sound New Pornographers-like, and wonderfully so, but also harks back to Carl’s days with Zumpano.

The single, “Bad Luck,” while she wrote it before her house burned down, does sound like it could’ve been about that. It also makes me want to dance (and I like any song that does), as well as think about the lyrics. It's the catchiest, most matter-of-fact pop song ever about bad luck.

The other duet is with Mark Lanagan, who is amazing on “Curse Of The I-5 Corridor.” With songs whose meanings are so buried, there’s a tendency to read more into them than might be there. I say the song might be autobiographic, since she did leave home as a teen, but maybe not the way the lyrics describe.

The music on this album, on several of the songs, is pop in the sense that the music is rich and full, melodic, but a lot gentler than on past albums. I like the way her music has evolved, and she’s singing better than ever.

While it’s impossible to hear every album released, I’ve heard enough to say that this is one of the better ones I’ve heard so far this year.

Andrea Weiss