though often labeled as alt-country or americana, neko case really defies category.  she is easily recognized for her powerful, full voice and has been described as a siren and greek chorus and one that pulls you in and swirls you around.

as a fifteen year old, neko left home and eventually worked her way into the music scene in vancouver, where she eventually met a.c. newman of the new pornographers.  although neko generally focuses on her solo material, she sings on new pornographer records, frequently touring with them.

neko released her sixth lp, middle cyclone, march 03, 2009 where it debuted at #3 on the billboard charts.  in it she sings of tornadoes, killer whales, vultures and elephants and concludes the album with a half-hour of looped nature sounds.  neko was quoted as saying that “i like to make sure (animals) are there, too.  i kind of want it all because i grew up with lots of animals and I related more to them than i did to people.  i feel a lot of empathy for them.”

neko wrote middle cyclone in vermont at her farmhouse which she filled with pianos collected from the internet.  "i really wanted to find a piano for the farm house.  there were so many free pianos on craigslist, i thought, 'let's get as many free pianos as we can and stick them all in the barn.' i got eight in a short period of time, only six of which were tunable."

also, for those cartoon fans out there, you will recognize neko’s voice from the aqua teen hunger force episode "sirens".  great show.

click here or here for april 09, 2009 and april 09, 2006 sets recorded by npr at d.c.'s the 9:30 club.  click here for a april 07,2009 session recorded by austin's kut.  click here for a june 06, 2008 gig recorded at the walt disney concert hall.  click here, here and here for sets recorded by wxpn for world café on august 17, 2007, march 23, 2007 and august 07, 2006.  click here for a story from all songs considered originally airing march 03, 2009 or here for an all things considered story from april 07, 2006.  click here to listen to a september 11, 2006 in-studio set and interview recorded by kcrw for morning becomes eclectic.  click here for a weekend edition story from march 01, 2009 or here for a morning edition story from march 28, 2006.  don't forget, the album cover image always links to sample songs and the band's image to their website.

check here to see if neko case has any gigs scheduled near you.

as always, please buy this album from your local independent music store by people who know and love music and not from retailers like wal-mart (soulless, globally-homogenizing, community-killers) or i-tunes (albums should be listened to as an entire composition with album cover and liner notes in hand).  incidentally, these two companies sell more music than any other retailer in the united states.  that my friend, bites.