Album Review: The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight. The Harder I Fight, the More I Love You

I've always enjoyed Neko Case. Her beautiful vocals, her colorful lyrics and her effortless grip on any genre she attempts to play in all make her a talented musician. In 2007, she had one grand slam of an album with Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. Ever since, I feel like we've been waiting for her second masterpiece.

It's here now.

The Worse Things Get comes at a difficult time in Case's life. Her familial relationships have, if her music is any indication, been strained for some time, particularly with her parents. In the time since her last record, 2009's Middle Cyclone, her parents both died, along with her grandmother. It was the depression that followed, which Case herself has described with "physically debilitating", from which this album was born. Not since Neutral Milk Hotel's Aeronplane Over the Sea have I seen an artist's emotions so nakedly on display. Like the aforementioned classic, the result is not depressing, but rather beautiful, hopeful and strong in the face of tragedy.

Case's already impressive songwriting prowess is better than ever on this record. At one moment, Case can be emotionally vulnerable, such as the hauntingly beautiful "Local Girl", or "Calling Cards". Then, she'll display defiance. "Man" is a fiery, catchy feminist song in which she asserts her independence by way of defying her gender roles.

"And if I'm dipshit drunk on the pink perfume
I am the man in the fucking moon'
Cause you didn't know what a man was
Until I showed you"

It's a powerful statement, and easily the best song on the album. On tracks "I'm from Nowhere" and "City Swan", she makes similar cries of independence. The themes add up to the core narrative that Case is mourning her losses deeply, but is not broken.

Perhaps the most impressive part of Case's songwriting is her ability to talk about her own personal and societal struggles through the stories of others. Each of the album's 12 tracks is its own look into the life of an individual. In "Calling Cards", Case's character is collecting calling cards for a loved one, identified only as a singer, but can only reach empty dial tones instead of the one she searches for. In "Nearly Midnight, Honolulu" she's a drifter watching a mother abuse her child. "Bracing for Sunday" casts her as a rebellious teenager, stuck in a small town and dreaming of the day when she won't be chastised on Sunday for being who she is. After falling in love with a woman, she murders her brother/rapist. These are intensely emotional stories, each reflecting a microcosm of Case's own internal demons. Her lyrics are laced with colorful phrasing as well, that lends a profound poetry to every tale she tells.

"I dropped my gloves into the stove
Hymns echoed out the grate
I fell in love with those electric lights
That drug me into town so late

To nimble, cunning, clever nights
I railed behind them, deputized
To scrape the lens of Christian eyes
A Friday night girl, Bracing for Sunday to come"  - Bracing For Sunday

"Goodnight, sunshine
The ghetto-bird shines 4 am,
Welcome to the West
A mosquito to kiss your hands and feet
Welcome to this dirty business" - I'm From Nowhere

I could go on and on about the power of the songwriting on this record, but to do so would be a huge disservice to the music. Case has never been one for settling down into a defined genre, and she's as opposed to the idea as ever here. Her vocal style may be decidedly country-western (If only in the Kelly Hogan, Patsy Kline sense), but she applies it to aggressive rock and roll, haunting folk and ethereal experimental tracks. Case also demonstrates her skill as a guitarist on tracks like "Local Girl" and "Calling Cards". One song that immediately jumped out to me was "Nearly Midnight, Honolulu", which features Case signing a Capella with her own recorded voice providing her backup. The effect is a haunting, gospel tune that is simply breathtaking. Each song's music is tailor fit for its lyrical theme, and each has its entirely own mold.

This is a fabulous album from start to finish. I don't say this often, but there isn't a single misstep the whole record over. For its emotional complexity, poetic approach to storytelling and the diverse musical presentation throughout, I can say with confidence that this is not only one of best records of the year so far, but Case's finest effort to date. I cannot recommend this album highly enough.