Singer-songwriter Neko Case unveiled a new song, “Hell-On,” the deceptively sinister title-track from her upcoming album, out June 1st via Anti.
“Hell-On” boasts a smoldering mix of guitar plucks, muted drums and swelling strings, over which Case sings in a sweetened voice, “You cannot time its table, it sets no glass or gables/ God is a lusty tire fire.” But just as this ominous section reaches its apex, Case deftly turns “Hell-On” into a breezy country tune, offering a brief respite before bringing the song back to a ruminative end.
Hell-On marks Case’s first solo album since 2013’s The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, the Harder I Fight, the More I Love You. In 2016 she teamed with k.d. lang and Laura Veirs for a collaborative record, Case/lang/veirs, and last year the New Pornographers released their latest LP, Whiteout Conditions.
Case produced most of Hell-On herself, partnering with Bjorn Yttling of Peter Bjorn and John to co-produce six cuts in Stockholm, Sweden. In a statement, Case called the songs on Hell-On, “my best self. They are everything I’ve worked for since I was a kid, whether I knew it or not. I write songs from a feeling of solidarity with folks who feel alone or isolated, I think I’m trying to comfort people in this way. It’s not a forceful way rather, ‘No commitment necessary;’ take it if you want it, take it as you can.”
Case will embark on a North American tour in support of Hell-On this spring. The trek opens with a set at Sasquatch Festival at the Gorge Amphitheater in Washington and wraps July 10th at Red Rocks in Morrison, Colorado. Tickets go on sale March 9th and Ray LaMontagne will serve as support.
Neko Case Hell-On Track List
1. “Hell-On”
2. “Last Lion Of Albion”
3. “Halls of Sarah”
4. “Bad Luck”
5. “Curse of the I-5 Corridor”
6. “Gumball Blue”
7. “Dirty Diamond”
8. “Oracle Of The Maritime”
9. “Winnie”
10. “Sleep All Summer”
11. “My Uncle’s Navy”
12. “Pitch Or Honey”
