the new neko case really blows

December 3, 2008 by Alan Pedder in Blog

…only joking!

Remember back at the end of August when videos of Neko Case singing four new songs at the Bumbershoot festival in Seattle surfaced on YouTube and everybody cooed in unison? Well, expect that cooing to whip up into a howling squall of appreciation when her much-anticipated new album Middle Cyclone hits the shops on March 2nd through the Anti- label. The album – her fifth solo studio release – includes 13 new originals and two covers: Sparks’ ‘Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth’ and the Bumbershoot-premiered ‘Don’t Forget Me’, originally by Harry Nilsson.

Recorded in Tucson, Brooklyn, Toronto and Vermont and co-produced alongside Darryl Neudorf, Middle Cyclone sees Neko working once more with Kelly Hogan, Paul Rigby, Tom V Ray, Visqueen, Calexico, The Sadies and The Band’s Garth Hudson, while guest appearances on recent Giant Sand and M. Ward output are reciprocated by the boys. Other guest stars include Los Lobos, The Lilys, Sarah Harmer and several New Pornographers.

In other Neko news, Wears The Trousers recently got a sneak preview of a brilliant new Giant Sand cover of Lou Reed’s ‘Satellite Of Love’, featuring Howe Gelb’s wife Sofia sharing vocals with Neko and Kristin Hersh. Sound too good to be true? We assure you it’s no lie, and it’s heading for a soundtrack near you. Admittedly, we failed to discover which soundtrack…all in good time.

Middle Cyclone
01 This Tornado Loves You
02 The Next Time You Say Forever
03 People Got a Lotta Nerve
04 Polar Nettles
05 Vengeance Is Sleeping
06 Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth [Sparks cover]
07 Middle Cyclone
08 Fever
09 Magpie to the Morning
10 I’m An Animal
11 Prison Girls
12 Don’t Forget Me [Harry Nilsson cover]
13 The Pharaohs
14 Red Tide
15 Marais La Nuit

Alan Pedder

‘Don’t Forget Me’, live at Bumbershoot 2008