I heard Neko Case
sing for the first time
on an early album
from the Canadian
supergroup, the un-
fortunately named
New Pornographers.
I had no idea
at the time she
had her own solo
thing going as a
country singer, a
country singer,
according to her memoir,
whose musical instruction
was mostly punk rock.
She evolved quickly
into something
entirely different,
so when I start
buying her albums
her stuff had become
a really cool amalgam
of country, art pop,
straight up rock,
more experimental
and arty. In my vinyl,
I begin with a live
album from 2004,
her early country
stuff, and by the end
of the day I will
have listened to
her most recent record,
the 2025 Neon Grey
Midnight Green.
The more music she makes,
the more I like her; almost
without exception, each
album is better than the
last. She’s brash, brave,
and tough, her voice is
strong and loud (she’s
no whispering waif),
her lyrics are smart,
and her bands are tight.
If I were to advise
the Case-curious, I’d
recommend beginning
with the album with
the excessively long
title, appropriately named,
it appears, to represent
the most salient themes
in her songwriting and in
her life: The Worse Things Get,
The Harder I Fight, The Harder
I Fight, The More I Love You.
Go backward or forward
from there. The trip will be
equally rewarding.
Notes on the vinyl editions: The Tigers Have Spoken, Anti Records, 2004, 2014 reissue on translucent red vinyl. The Worse It Gets, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You, Anti Records, 2013, black double LP, the album on sides one and two, a third side of bonus tracks, an etched fourth side w/out audio. Hell-On, Anti Records, 2018, black double album. Neon Grey, Midnight Green, Anti Records, 2025, cloudy white vinyl.
If you are just joining me for the first time, I am attempting to listen to all of my records in alphabetical order and then to write a poem-like-thing for each artist represented there.
michael jarmer 