Hell-On

Neko Case's seventh solo album, Hell-On, is another masterpiece. I believe I have five of her records and all of them are fine listening. This one follows a couple of ugly circumstances in her life. Her house in Vermont burned down, and she battled a newspaper that printed her home address, which of course can make a celebrity prone to stalkers feel very vulnerable.

The cover, which shows Case wearing a crown of cigarettes and a flame perched on her shoulder, probably refers to the fire. But if you look for meaning in her lyrics, it's not there. Her lyrics on this album are dazzling but mysterious. I could quote from all of them but I'll settle for two. This from the title and opening track:

"My voice is not the liquid waves
The perfect rings around a heron's legs
My voice is straight garroting wire
A stolen mile of fingerprints
Peeled the quiet from the dunes
Captured and re-spooled as ruin to be used
At a different time"

The mini-epic "Curse of the I-5 Corridor" appears to be about a woman who has decided not to go home with a man after much consideration:

"So I left home and faked my ID
I fucked every man that I wanted to be
I was so stupid then
Why should mystery give its last name
Baby I'm afraid
But it's not your fault
Maybe I should go
Home alone tonight"

"My Uncle's Navy" seems to be about an uncle of Case's who was a sailor and not a nice man:

"Deputized by the cruel god of children
No running water in his soul, just a hole
Echoed when he called your name from down the hall
His name was a command that cuts the ears off fightin' dogs
Then wipes the knife on his militia pants"

Musically, the songs are complex. The only song that can be called a standard pop song is "Bad Luck," which is a real earworm. Most of the songs were written by Case and Paul Ringby, but A.C. Newman, her partner in The New Pornographers, and Laura Viers also contribute to the writing. One song is written entirely by Eric Bachmann of Archers of Loaf. It's called "Sleep All Summer" and the way Case sings this poignant line: "Why won't you fall back in love with me" will break your heart.

Of course Case also has a fantastic and interesting voice. She belts, but also knows how to wrap certain words in a velvet cushion. I reiterate that right now she is my favorite female vocalist/musician/songwriter.