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Neko Case - Middle Cyclone (03/03/2009)


en480c4

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After countless listens I'm certainly not ready to say that it's better than Fox Confessor..., but in my opinion, Middle Cyclone very much deserves to be mentioned in the same breath. Which is aparantly contrary to the popular opinion in this thread. And keep in mind that I hold that album in very high regard.

Middle Cyclone has some haunting, absolutely beautiful songs. "Polar Nettles", the title track, "Magpie in the Morning" and "Remember Me" are all stunning. But there's also some variety. "This Tornado Loves You", "People Got A Lotta Nerve", "I'm an Animal" and "Red Tide" border on upbeat. And then there are the kind of odd ones, like "Fever" which I'm not sure what to think of, and "The Pharoahs" which seems to be the biggest grower for me so far since my first listen.

I love that none of the songs stay for too long. I love the imagery she creates in the lyrics, even if don't always know what the hell she's trying to say. And I love the variations in tempo and instrumentation troughout.

Yup, I :ian:Midde Cyclone.

edit:

I forgot to mention... One thing I noticed today after going back and listening to the Live at the Triple Door show after getting to know Middle Cyclone pretty well. The Middle Cyclone songs fit perfectly when played along with songs from Fox Confessor.... When stripped down and side by side, things flowed very, very well.

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"Fart cannon"? I've heard some criticisms of the DT770's before, but this is a new one. Either that, or I don't understand what the expression means.

I was just exaggerating. I've actually only heard them once briefly, but I immediately knew they weren't for me.

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Wooow ... Reading that I thought I had logged onto HF by mistake. :rolleyes::palm:

What was so "Head-Fi" about that? I heard them at a meet out of a Millet tube amp and didn't like them. What, because I didn't own them for a long period of time I can't form an opinion about those headphones?

The "fart cannon" thing was a joke, but they are boomy/overly bassy. Are they not? I'm not the first one to think that.

Anyway, just wanted to post the Middle Cyclone review and threw in the comment because she was wearing Beyers in one of the pics in the video.

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What was so "Head-Fi" about that? I heard them at a meet out of a Millet tube amp and didn't like them. What, because I didn't own them for a long period of time I can't form an opinion about those headphones?

You can have whatever opinion you want and I reserve the right to form my own opinion about that opinion, and I did.

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Less annoying talk about crappy headphones. More talk about amazing album.

I'd have to say that while it didn't start as my favorite track, "The Pharaohs" has grown into one of my favorites, if not my top track. Of course, upon finally getting the disc and reading the booklet I see that's the one she wrote with The Sadies, who also co-wrote my favorite track from Fox Confessor..., "Hold On, Hold On".

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Less annoying talk about crappy headphones. More talk about amazing album.

Definitely. I apologize for sidetracking.

I have to be honest and say I was preparing for a letdown because how do you follow Fox Confessor? But she did an amazing job on this. I'm really pleased with how it came out. She writes such great melodies, which I'm guessing is a requirement if you're going to hang around AC Newman and Dan Bejar. The lyrics are also very strong, and of course her voice is amazing.

Don't have a favorite track on this one quite yet. My favorite on Fox Confessor was "Star Witness".

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Rocked it last night. Haven't gotten the new album yet, need to go order the LP right now!

EDIT: Can't find a place to order the LP, except some shady UK joint. Anyone got info?

I wouldn't order the vinyl based on previous experiences with her vinyl albums. I have transferred a total of 6 Neko Case albums (2 from a member here - the other 4 were all Fox Confessor for a total of 5 Fox Confessors and 1 other album) and all were very similar in quality. Getting them to sound Hi-Fi is really hard and take a while to fix up. My thought is that the vinyl probably uses the same CD master.

After hearing the CD of Middle Cyclone, I think you could do better with a remaster from the CD than from the vinyl. I think I have done a nice reworking of the sound but I am still waiting to hear from 9 out 12 people who got samples to judge on quality control.

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