By: Anna Duran.
The indie music scene was delivered a sonorous gift this month in the form of Neko Case’s anticipated release of “The Worse It Gets, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You.”
The new album is genre-hopping with music suitable for most tastes and features 12 original tracks. ITunes is selling it for $13.99 with three bonus tracks.
The music remains true to Case’s style, with descriptive lyricism and her unique voice painting vivid mental pictures of personal stories with which fans can relate.
A gem on the record is the ninth track, ‘’Afraid,’’ the only one not featured in the album booklet. The song speaks to losing oneself in another entity and serves as a reminder to remain unique.
The most popular track according to ITunes is ‘’Man,’’ which Case performed on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. The humanist lyrics are set to the fastest music on the album, and the song encompasses a modern identity struggle.
Another track those of college age can relate to is ‘’Bracing for Sunday,’’ an anxious tune about having fun on Friday knowing you might have to show your face in church soon.
Case’s voice truly shines on ‘‘Nearly Midnight, Honolulu,’’ which has no music at all, just Neko’s voice, all a haunting and desperate lullaby sung to or about a stranger’s child.
This album is rife with metaphorical language but isn’t hard to understand. The mood of ‘’The Worse it Gets’’ is decidedly melancholy, which suits the human condition of the entire record and is different from previous releases.
Those new to Case’s musical stylings and fans alike should find this a welcome addition to any library.
Case hasn’t released an album since 2009’s ‘’Middle Cyclone,’’ which debuted No. 3 on the Billboard charts.
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