''Middle Cyclone'' is the fifth studio album of American
alternative country singer-songwriter
Neko Case
Neko Richelle Case (; born September 8, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and member of the Canadian indie rock group the New Pornographers. Case has a powerful, untrained contralto voice, which has been described by contemporaries and cr ...
, released on March 3, 2009, on the
ANTI- record label.
Her first solo effort in three years, Case stated that "it took a very long time to make".
As the title of the album suggests, the record's lyrics are permeated with imagery of tornadoes and, more generally, nature. Thematically ''Middle Cyclone'' concerns how Case's upbringing socialized her to form strong emotional attachments to nature and animals, to the neglect of human relationships, and her reconciling "the fact that I need love".
''Middle Cyclone'' features a variety of guest performers, including
M. Ward
Matthew Stephen Ward (born October 4, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from Portland, Oregon. Ward's solo work is a mixture of folk and blues-inspired Americana analog recordings; he has released ten studio albums since 19 ...
,
Garth Hudson
Eric "Garth" Hudson (born August 2, 1937) is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist best known as the keyboardist and occasional saxophonist for rock group the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He was a ...
,
Sarah Harmer
Sarah Harmer (born November 12, 1970) is a Canadian singer, songwriter and environmental activist.
Early life
Born and raised in Burlington, Ontario, Harmer gained her first exposure to the musician's lifestyle as a teenager, when her older sis ...
, and members of
The New Pornographers
The New Pornographers are a Canadian indie rock band, formed in 1997 in Vancouver. Presented as a musical collective of singer-songwriters and musicians from multiple projects, the band has released eight studio albums to critical acclaim for th ...
,
Los Lobos,
Calexico
Calexico () is a city in southern Imperial County, California. Situated on the Mexican border, it is linked economically with the much larger city of Mexicali, the capital of the Mexican state of Baja California. It is about east of San Diego ...
,
The Sadies
The Sadies are a Canadian rock and roll / country and western band from Toronto, Ontario. The band consists of Dallas Good, Travis Good, Sean Dean and Mike Belitsky. Dallas and Travis are the sons of Margaret and Bruce Good, and nephews of Bria ...
,
Visqueen, Kurt Heasley of
Lilys
Lilys are an American indie rock band formed in Washington, D.C in 1988. The only constant member is Kurt Heasley, with the line-up changing regularly. Several of the band's tracks have been used in television advertisements, including the band' ...
, and
Giant Sand
Giant Sand is an American musical group from Tucson, Arizona, United States. Its most constant member is singer-songwriter Howe Gelb. The group started as Giant Sandworms in the late 1970s post-punk and paisley underground scenes. They later s ...
.
[ It also features two prominent covers: " Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth" by Sparks and "Don't Forget Me" by ]Harry Nilsson
Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal ov ...
.
''Middle Cyclone'' debuted to strong reviews from contemporary mainstream and independent music critics. In particular, Case's voice garnered unanimous praise for its strength, clarity, and emotional range. In December 2009 Case was nominated for two Grammys
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
for her work on ''Middle Cyclone'': Best Contemporary Folk Album and Best Recording Package (the latter nomination shared with artist Kathleen Judge).
Conception and recording
The recording of ''Middle Cyclone'' took place in Tucson
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
, image_map =
, mapsize = 260px
, map_caption = Interactive map ...
, Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, Toronto, and Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
. Case herself stated that only the "piano orchestra" sessions were recorded in Vermont and that the rest was recorded using WaveLab
WaveLab is a digital audio editor and recording computer software application for Windows and macOS, created by Steinberg. WaveLab was started in 1995 and it is mainly the work of one programmer, Philippe Goutier.
Audio can be edited as a sin ...
in Tucson. At the time, Case was transitioning from living in Tucson to a recently purchased farm in Vermont, where she recorded in a barn
A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Alle ...
on the property.[ Case described how the barn was retrofitted to suit her musical needs, as well as the "piano orchestra" that appears in three of ''Middle Cyclones tracks:]
Of the eight pianos that Case rescued, six were playable after two days of tuning by two tuners.[ One was a broken ]player piano
A player piano (also known as a pianola) is a self-playing piano containing a pneumatic or electro-mechanical mechanism, that operates the piano action via programmed music recorded on perforated paper or metallic rolls, with more modern im ...
, which Case decided had the potential to be repurposed.[
The open and unconstrained nature of the barn-as-recording studio resulted in several of the tracks on ''Middle Cyclone'' having elements akin to a ]field recording
Field recording is the term used for an audio recording produced outside a recording studio, and the term applies to recordings of both natural and human-produced sounds. It also applies to sound recordings like electromagnetic fields or vibra ...
. Case asserted that because of the barn "We ended up with robins Robins may refer to:
Places United States
*Robins, Iowa, a small city
* Robins, Ohio, an unincorporated community
* Robins Township, Fall River County, South Dakota
* Robins Island, of the coast of New York state
*Robins Air Force Base, Georgia
*R ...
on the recording and frogs and all kinds of stuff. And with a barn, you just don't have control, which was another element I really liked."[ "Polar Nettles" features the aforementioned birdsong 39 seconds into the track, as well as a chorus of ]spring peeper
The spring peeper (''Pseudacris crucifer'') is a small chorus frog widespread throughout the eastern United States and Canada. They prefer permanent ponds due to their advantage in avoiding predation; however, they are very adaptable with respect ...
frogs at the track's end. (The latter fortuitous event was recorded on video and published on ANTI-'s YouTube channel.) "Don't Forget Me" contains a gust of wind close to the song's end.[ The final track, "Marais La Nuit" (French for "Marsh at Night"), is an actual field recording of the environs around a pond on Case's farm.][ When asked about the track in an interview with '']Paste magazine
''Paste'' is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan, and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publication fro ...
'', Case responded "I actually went down to the pond and recorded that myself."[
]
Publicity
New material from ''Middle Cyclone'' was first widely publicized when Case performed at Bumbershoot in Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, WA on Saturday August 30, 2008, from 1–2:15 pm. In addition to older material such as "Favorite", "Margaret vs. Pauline", and "That Teenage Feeling", the set included four songs from the unreleased album, including "I'm an Animal", "The Pharaohs", "Don't Forget Me", and "Vengeance Is Sleeping". Fan-made video recordings of the songs were posted the next day to YouTube[ and received widespread attention shortly thereafter in early September when the videos were posted to websites such as Stereogum.][
The cover art for ''Middle Cyclone'' was released in early December 2008.][ The image of Case, crouched and ready to spring off the hood of her 1967 Mercury Cougar with a sword in hand received enthusiastic responses from Internet-based media. In a news article entitled "Neko Case, Reigning 2009 Album Art Champ", Matthew Solarski of ]Pitchfork Media
''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog.
Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...
, stated "So ''Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
''Fox Confessor Brings the Flood'' is the fourth solo album by American alt-country musician Neko Case, released March 7, 2006 by ANTI- Records. The album was found on many “Best of” lists that year and had a bonus disc released by ANTI- in ...
'' had some awfully lovely, subtle artwork. But this? My friends, pictures created to accompany music just don't come any better than this." "Dear God she is wielding a sword" was the subtitle of the article.[ Images from the sword-and-]muscle car
Muscle car is a description according to '' Merriam-Webster Dictionary'' that came to use in 1966 for "a group of American-made two-door sports coupes with powerful engines designed for high-performance driving." The '' Britannica Dictionary'' ...
photo shoot were also used in advertisements on the ANTI- blog to encourage preordering of ''Middle Cyclone''.
On December 15, 2008, ANTI- released an Electronic Press Kit
A press kit, often referred to as a media kit in business environments, is a pre-packaged set of promotional materials that provide information about a person, company, organization or cause and which is distributed to members of the media for p ...
for ''Middle Cyclone'' in the form of a YouTube video. It features selections of an interview with Case, excerpts from several ''Middle Cyclone'' songs, footage of Case and her band performing the songs, and collage art and animation to bridge segments. The video also provided fans a first listen to parts of "Magpie to the Morning", "This Tornado Loves You", "Middle Cyclone", "Polar Nettles", and "Fever" (in addition to two already featured at Bumbershoot: "Don't Forget Me" and "People Got a Lotta Nerve").
On February 18, the entirety of ''Middle Cyclone'' was streamed
Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...
by NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
until the album's release on March 3.[
On February 24 the ANTI- blog released a free mp3 of Neko Case's song "Middle Cyclone" to commemorate the one year anniversary of the label's blog. The promotion also included a give-away of four autographed copies of the album, with the fifth winner receiving not only a signed copy of ''Middle Cyclone'' but also her entire ANTI- catalog: '' The Tigers Have Spoken'', '' Blacklisted'' (reissue), '' Furnace Room Lullaby'' (reissue), '']Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
''Fox Confessor Brings the Flood'' is the fourth solo album by American alt-country musician Neko Case, released March 7, 2006 by ANTI- Records. The album was found on many “Best of” lists that year and had a bonus disc released by ANTI- in ...
'' (bonus), and ''Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
''Fox Confessor Brings the Flood'' is the fourth solo album by American alt-country musician Neko Case, released March 7, 2006 by ANTI- Records. The album was found on many “Best of” lists that year and had a bonus disc released by ANTI- in ...
''.
"People Got A Lotta Nerve"
The first single from ''Middle Cyclone'' is "People Got a Lotta Nerve", which initially was released as a free download on January 13, 2009, on the ANTI- blog and the day after on their website. In celebration of Best Friends Animal Society
Best Friends Animal Society, (BFAS) founded in its present form in 1993, is an American nonprofit 501(c)(3) animal welfare organization. BFAS does outreach nationwide with shelters, rescue groups and members to promote pet adoption, no-kill an ...
's 25th anniversary in 2009, for every blogger that reposted "People Got a Lotta Nerve" or iLike user who added it to their profile, Neko Case and ANTI- made a cash donation to the charity.[ The promotion ran from January 13 to February 3, 2009, with five dollars donated per blog post and one per iLike profile-add.][
On February 24, "People Got a Lotta Nerve" was featured as a downloadable track in the "Alt Country Pack 01" extension for the video game '' Rock Band 2''.
Case was interviewed and performed "People Got A Lotta Nerve" live for '' QTV'' on February 24, accompanied by Paul Rigby on acoustic guitar and Kelly Hogan on backing vocals.][ On March 4, 2009, Case performed on '']The Tonight Show
''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...
''.
On March 20 ANTI- released a music video for "People Got A Lotta Nerve" on both MTV2's early-morning show "Subterranean" and its YouTube channel. The animated video, created by brother/sister team Paul and Julie Morstad, depicts a red-headed schoolgirl – ostensibly Case – who is ejected from a killer whale
The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white ...
's blowhole onto the grounds of an estate. The red-head witnesses the interactions of a multitude of other girls with animals, but is returned to the belly of the whale when she takes aim at one of the animals with a rifle found in the estate's manor house.
Various types of interactions between humans and animals are presented in the video, including the care, stewardship and play associated with domesticated animals, hunting
Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, ...
, animal servitude, and man-eating
A man-eater is an animal that preys on humans as a pattern of hunting behavior. This does not include the scavenging of corpses, a single attack born of opportunity or desperate hunger, or the incidental eating of a human that the animal has kil ...
. Despite the prominent repetition of the lyric "man-eater" the video does not depict men or boys. The schoolgirls' childlike activities (climbing, swinging, walking on stilts
Stilts are poles, posts or pillars that allow a person or structure to stand at a height above the ground.
In flood plains, and on beaches or unstable ground, buildings are often constructed on stilts to protect them from damage by water, wav ...
, jumping rope, piggy-back riding, pillow fight
A pillow fight is a common game mostly played by young children (but also by teens and adults) in which they engage in mock physical conflict, using pillows as weapons.
Pillow fights often occur during children's sleepovers. Since pillows a ...
ing, and clapping game
A clapping game (or hand game) is a type of usually cooperative (i.e., non-competitive) game which is generally played by two players and involves clapping as a rhythmic accompaniment to a singing game or reciting of a rhyme, often nursery rh ...
s) take place near and even on animals such as elephants, greyhounds, tigers, rheas, falcons, and monkeys. Animals are depicted in the video with as much agency as the humans: monkeys read pieces of paper, falcons intervene to prevent the red-head from shooting a monkey, the rhea allows two girls to ride on its back, and the tiger eats the girls brushing him. The video also contains several depictions of Case in the form of a portrait hung in the manor's stairwell and the transposition of one of Case's promotional portraits from ''Middle Cyclone'' onto the paper one of the monkeys possesses. The black comic scene in which the tiger has eaten his youthful groomers (their shoes and brushes have been left behind as the animal licks its chops) alludes to Case's song " The Tigers Have Spoken", whose lyrics describe a man-eating tiger driven mad by the isolation of captivity and shot on his chain.
Reception
''Middle Cyclone'' received generally positive reviews from critics. NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
praised the album's songs as "heartbreakingly-beautiful and, at times, comical" and praised Case's voice as "one of the most memorable and seductive voices in music." ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' Daniel Menaker praised her "real richness and body," writing that "She has often been described as a belter, a force of nature, a kind of vocal tornado. So this increased admixture of playfulness, delicacy and orchestral effects strikes you as the kind of variegation that artists — and species — make in order to survive and thrive."
''Middle Cyclone'' debuted at number three on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart in its first week of release, making it Case's first album to reach the top ten in the United States.
As of 2013, sales in the United States have exceeded 223,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. As of 2010 it has sold 17,000 copies in Canada.
''Middle Cyclone'' tour
The Europe February 2009 Tour, described as "a sneak of the new album", began in Berlin, Germany on Wednesday February 18, 2009, and ended on the 23rd in London, England.
''Middle Cyclones Spring 2009 Tour began at Stubb's BBQ in Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
on March 31, 2009. It then snaked through the Southeast, US East Coast, Canada, and Midwest through the end of April. It was expanded to include locales in the Southwest, US West Coast, other locales across North America, and eventually expanded to other countries such as Australia. The band Crooked Fingers
Crooked Fingers was an American indie rock band, led by the former Archers of Loaf frontman Eric Bachmann. A vehicle for Bachmann's songwriting, the band's lineup changed between each record. Crooked Fingers released albums on WARM Records and Me ...
opened for the majority of Case's spring 2009 shows.[
]
Track listing
All songs written by Neko Case
Neko Richelle Case (; born September 8, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and member of the Canadian indie rock group the New Pornographers. Case has a powerful, untrained contralto voice, which has been described by contemporaries and cr ...
, except where noted.
Note
*On the vinyl release "Marais la Nuit" is shortened to about 15 minutes and takes up all of Side Four.
Personnel
* Neko Case
Neko Richelle Case (; born September 8, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and member of the Canadian indie rock group the New Pornographers. Case has a powerful, untrained contralto voice, which has been described by contemporaries and cr ...
– vocals, guitar, piano, tambourine, happy apple
* Paul Rigby – guitars, piano, music box, organ, dulcimer
* Tom V. Ray
Tom V. Ray is an American bassist living in Chicago. He was born in 1965, and grew up on a farm in Vincennes, Indiana.
Ray’s professional musical career began in 1983, when he began performing with local bluegrass, country and classic rock co ...
– bass
* Kelly Hogan
Kelly Hogan (born January 11, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter, often known for her work as a member of Neko Case's backing band, as well as for her solo work.
Early and personal life
Hogan was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the daughter of ...
– backing vocals
* Lucy Wainwright Roche
Lucy Wainwright Roche (born December 16, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter. Preceded by two EPs, ''8 Songs'' and ''8 More'', Roche released her debut album, ''Lucy'' in October 2010. In 2013, she starred as Jeri in the ''Stuff You Should Kno ...
– backing vocals
* Jon Rauhouse – guitar, pedal steel, Hawaiian guitar
* Barry Mirochnick – drums
* Kurt Heasley
Lilys are an American indie rock band formed in Washington, D.C in 1988. The only constant member is Kurt Heasley, with the line-up changing regularly. Several of the band's tracks have been used in television advertisements, including the band' ...
– guitar, backing vocals
* Sarah Harmer
Sarah Harmer (born November 12, 1970) is a Canadian singer, songwriter and environmental activist.
Early life
Born and raised in Burlington, Ontario, Harmer gained her first exposure to the musician's lifestyle as a teenager, when her older sis ...
– vocals on "Fever"
* Carolyn Mark – backing vocals on "Magpie"
* Howe Gelb
Howe Gelb (born October 22, 1956, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania) is an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer based in Tucson, Arizona.
Projects
Gelb's approach to music is collaborative and he has recorded with a number of s ...
– piano, guitar
* Garth Hudson
Eric "Garth" Hudson (born August 2, 1937) is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist best known as the keyboardist and occasional saxophonist for rock group the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He was a ...
– organ, piano
* Dallas Good – guitar
* Travis Good – guitar on "The Pharaohs"
* M. Ward
Matthew Stephen Ward (born October 4, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from Portland, Oregon. Ward's solo work is a mixture of folk and blues-inspired Americana analog recordings; he has released ten studio albums since 19 ...
– guitar on "Fever" and "Magpie"
* Nora O'Connor
Nora O’Connor (born April 2, 1968) is an American, Chicago-based musician. Though primarily known for her vocals, O'Connor also plays guitar and bass. For much of 2013, O'Connor toured internationally as a singer in Iron and Wine. She also reco ...
– backing vocals
* Ryan Boyles – piano
* Blaine Thurier – piano
* Kathryn Calder – piano
References
External links
''Middle Cyclone'' album details
at the ANTI- official website.
''Middle Cyclone'' lyrics
at Neko Case's official website.
* at ANTI-'s official YouTube channel.
* at ANTI-'s official YouTube channel.
{{Authority control
2009 albums
Anti- (record label) albums
Neko Case albums
Albums produced by Darryl Neudorf