GENRE: Folk/Country
LABEL: Anti-
REVIEWED: 30 September, 2025
RATING: 8.0/10
Neko Case’s Neon Grey Midnight Green arrives seven years after her last solo album, Hell-On, and it feels like both a homecoming and a bold leap forward. Recorded primarily at her Vermont studio, Carnassial Sound, with additional sessions in Denver and Portland, the album is the first she has fully self-produced. That independence gives the record a raw intimacy, preserving the human details of breath, ambient sounds, and live energy while still delivering a rich, cinematic polish. The presence of the PlainsSong Chamber Orchestra adds depth and scale, making the record resonate as both confessional and expansive.
At its core, the album is about grief, memory, and mortality. Much of its emotional weight stems from Case reflecting on lost friends and collaborators, yet the music never collapses under sorrow. Instead, it embraces awe, gratitude, and a strange beauty in the face of loss. Her lyrics remain as vivid as ever, conjuring surreal landscapes and mythic images, where natural and human worlds blur together. This blend of the personal and the universal has long been Case’s strength, and here it feels sharper, as if each line is carrying both a story and a lesson.
Certain tracks stand out as emotional anchors. “Wreck,” the lead single, distills the record’s balance of heartbreak and celebration into a direct, driving anthem. “An Ice Age” builds from a quiet beginning into a sweeping, devastating climax, while “Winchester Mansion of Sound” captures the album’s emotional core with haunting piano and a tribute to Dexter Romweber. Even the more experimental moments, such as the title track or “Tomboy Gold,” feel purposeful, stretching the boundaries of her sound without losing its essence.
The result has been widely acclaimed, with critics praising its ambition and emotional power, earning an impressive Metacritic score of 84. Neon Grey Midnight Green is not a record of easy hooks or quick pleasures; it is an album that unfolds slowly, rewarding attention with layers of texture and meaning. For longtime fans, it represents Neko Case at her most complete, unafraid to confront darkness yet still finding light. For newcomers, it may be demanding at first, but it lingers—an elegiac, fearless, and unforgettable statement.
