Neko Case - The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You
Neko Case
The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You
Neko Case throws her emotional discretion out the window with her sixth LP The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You. Exposing her honest and disarmed self more than ever, Neko proceeds to open old wounds. Using only her voice and the harmonies of her backing vocalists, “Nearly Midnight, Honolulu” is a vulnerable song of encouragement for her inner child, despite damaging memories of her own mother. “Local Girl” echoes a hook that resembles a haunting guilty conscience (“You know you do/All of you/Shame on you/All of you lie.”) Running the emotional gamut from betrayal to feminist bravado, “Man” makes use of aggressive imagery and charged guitar riffs (courtesy of M. Ward) to illustrate Neko’s masculine swagger. “The fat-finger bullies are no match for me/So taste them in my teeth/I’m a man.” The final track “Ragtime” brings this tumultuous journey to an optimistic conclusion, with bright horn arrangements and echoing rhythm guitar a fitting soundtrack for Neko to finally take down her guard: “I’ll reveal myself when I’m ready/I’ll reveal myself invincible soon.”
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