On Middle Cyclone, Neko Case refines and deepens lessons learned from country, the singer/songwriter tradition and the off-center pop art of her sometimes band, the New Pornographers. With a terseness that nonetheless gives room for metaphor explorations and her discreetly eloquent musicians, Case twists the usually sleepy singer/songwriter style, lacing its romance with verbal timebombs that only explode in your brain once your pleasure centers have been seduced by her welcoming voice and warmly flowing melodies.
Case is no crooning pushover, intoning lullabies for anxious middle-agers. She restores a multi-dimensional craftsmanship to the much abused concept of folk-rock.