Album review: Neko Case, The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, the Harder I Fight, the More I Love You... (Anti-)

Emerging from a three-year bout of bereavement-induced grief and depression, Neko Case here offers a song-cycle that takes her from the looming portents of “Wild Creatures”, through a series of allusive ruminations on identity, anxiety, womanhood and home, finally reaching closure of sorts with a paean to the uplifting sound of “Ragtime”. It's a journey full of twists and turns, mapped out by Case and producer Tucker Martine in dense, often claustrophobic arrangements, the anxious lyrics trapped by layers of instruments in songs like “Night Still Comes” and “Man”. Even the acappella track “Nearly Midnight, Honolulu”seems choked with layered backing vocals. Not an easy listen, but a satisfying one.

Download: Night Still Comes; Afraid; Wild Creatures