New Music From Neko Case: Neon Grey Midnight Green

The new album from Neko Case [Tape Op #127], Neon Grey Midnight Green, is an adventurous listen that grew on me like fungus in a Florida swamp. It is not a musical theater album, but has elements of musical theater storytelling and presentation. It is not a punk record, but has elements of punk rock and a few riot grrrl moments. It is not an orchestral album, but has lovely string and orchestral arrangements that elevate several tracks. It is not a straightforward Americana offering, but, being Neko Case, it wades in and out of the genre, sometimes conjuring the spirits of artists like Jean Ritchie and June Carter Cash. It is not a surf rock record, but it has lovely, lush reverb-soaked guitars that drift and bend throughout the narrative. What Neon Grey Midnight Green is, however, is a cinematic, lyrically rich, beautifully-recorded collection of personal songs that blows the doors off of the confines of genre in respects to what is "expected" of an artist. This album rests on zero laurels and is Neko Case through and through.

Neon Grey Midnight Green was produced by Neko Case, mixed by Neko Case and Tucker Martine [Tape Op #29], engineered by Darryl Neudorf, Jeff Galegher, John "Tito" Hagler, Colin Bricker, and Tucker Martine, and mastered by Heba Kadry [Tape Op #139].