#33 - Neko Case - The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You

Neko Case - The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You 

Anti, 2013

Album title of the decade. One of those titles I heard and knew that if the album didn’t live up to the title, it would hurt. Fortunately, I didn’t have anything to worry about because when has Neko Case ever released anything less than great? 2018’s Hell-On is more adventurous, and maybe the superior record, but this is the album I spent the most time with. Not that this album is somehow safe or doesn’t take risks (just take a look at the A Capella “Nearly Midnight, Honolulu” in which Case puts an abusive mom at the Honolulu airport on blast and apologizes to the poor kid getting yelled at). She still belts the hell out of every song, and I think I’m defensive about this one because the usually reliable AV Club  panned this album and I just didn’t understand how they could whiff so bad. How do you listen to a song like “City Swans” and go, “Eh”? Immaterial. This record is excellent and relistening to it now I feel like it’s better than I remember.