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Neko case

nekoThe Worse Things Get The Harder I Fight The Harder I Fight The More I Love You
Anti/Warner Music

Neko Case became best known for her role in The New Pornographers before her solo material really started to take off. Having an album hit the # 3 spot on the charts in the US may have caused much reflection and led to there being four years until the release of her latest offering, The Worse Things Get The Harder I Fight The Harder I Fight The More I Love You.

For her sixth outing, Case has adopted a harder edge with Wild Creatures having the usual country tones expected from the sultry chanteuse, before peeling away to show some sinister guitar. Man is a brazen a track of defiance that shows the fight Case has had in overcoming the grief of losing her parents to continue to be the strong willed firebrand that she is.

With each new album it is still remarkable that a voice so pristine has been totally untrained and had its formative years from when Case was jumping around in punk bands.  City Swans has a killer hook and Nearly Midnight, Honolulu has Case getting close to torch song territory, but it is the minimalist take on Nico’s Afraid that is nothing short of perfect that should cement this one for your record collection.

The Worse Things Get The Harder I Fight The Harder I Fight The More I Love You is prickly in parts, and beautiful in others. Case has again made a record full of character and charm with a  take-no-prisoners attitude and no shortage of melody for good measure.

_ CHRIS HAVERCROFT

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