Audio Mixers: Darryl Neudorf; Neko Case.

Recording information: Batty Steer, Mono Center, Ontario, Canada; Neko Case's barn; Seaside Lounge, Brooklyn, NY; Wall To Wall, Chicago, IL; Wavelab, Tucson, AZ.

Photographers: Jason Creps; Neko Case.

Arranger: Paul Rigby.

Indie/alt-country songwriter-goddess Neko Case is nothing if not a chameleon, capable of wrapping herself around soulful twang, snotty 'tude, or bouyant teen energy. But if there's a thread running through her work, it's her undeniable magnetism as a poet. And on CYCLONE, by fully embracing the theme of love for the first time in her career, she transforms herself into an almost mystically insightful weaver of romantic imagery. On "Polar Nettles" in particular, Case effortlessly unravels the tale of a woman so powerful that she acts as a centrifuge spinning out the sun's rays. Guests range from M. Ward to her co-members from the New Pornographers, but like Dolly Parton during her early-'70s heyday, there is no mistaking who the moment belongs to. Whether it's the title track's subdued, folky rumination on the fears of facing happiness or the dramatic, Stevie Nicks gypsy-pop of penultimate track "Red Tide," Case's musical presence is, in fact, a CYCLONE OF unforgettable emotion.

Neko Case looks formidable on the cover of Middle Cyclone, brandishing a sword in one hand while crouching low on a muscle car's hood. It's mostly camp, of course -- the sort of superwoman image Quentin Tarantino might have used for Death Proof's ad campaign -- but it also draws contrast with the songwriter's previous albums, two of which featured moody shots of Case sprawled on the floor, ostensibly knocked out. Middle Cyclone isn't the polar opposite of Blacklisted's downcast Americana; there are still moments of heartbreak on this release, and Case channels the sad cowgirl blues with all the rustic nuance of Patsy Cline. Multiple years in the New Pornographers' employ have considerably brightened her outlook, however, and Middle Cyclone balances its melancholia with some of the most pop-oriented choruses of Case's career. "I'm a man-man-maneater," she asserts during "People Got a Lotta Nerve," a snappy nugget of harmonies and jangled guitar that helps strengthen her Mercury Cougar-riding cover pose. The mammal metaphors continue with "I'm an Animal," where a coed choir supports the melody with a wordless, hooky refrain. Such songs are still rife with earth tones, perhaps preferring the Southern comfort of roots music to the sparkle of Carl Newman's power pop, but their venture into brighter territory is both assured and tuneful.

Of course, Neko Case already explored the animal world with 2006's Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, and Middle Cyclone devotes more time to weather, nature, and the stormy atmospherics of her backup band. There are few voices as hauntingly beautiful as Case's alto, a siren call fashioned from country's might and pop's melody, and she trains those tones over a number of semi-ballads, from the cinematic "Prison Girls" (a country-noir love letter to someone with "long shadows and gunpowder eyes") to the sparse title track. She does a surprise duet with chirping birds during "Polar Nettles" -- a result of the pastoral recording sessions, which took place in a barn -- before offering up a cover of Sparks' "Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth," which very well may be the album's mission statement. There's still room to tackle love from the perspective of different characters -- a man in "Vengeance Is Sleeping," a disbeliever in "The Next Time You Say Forever," a smitten wind vortex in "This Tornado Loves You" -- but nature remains at the forefront of Middle Cyclone, whose 14 songs conclude with a half-hour field recording of chirping crickets and frogs. Moody, cinematic, and engaging throughout, Cyclone is another tour de force from Neko Case, if not as immediately arresting as Fox Confessor. ~ Andrew Leahey