# Neko Case Singer-songwriter, alt-country/indie rock — solo records plus a long stint as a member of The New Pornographers. Known for a huge, unmistakable voice and lyrics that lean surreal and folkloric rather than straightforward confessional (a lot of animal imagery, weather, myth). ## Background Born September 8, 1970, in Alexandria, Virginia; grew up in Tacoma, Washington and left home at 15. Cut her teeth playing drums in Pacific Northwest punk bands (the Weasels, Maow, Cub) before moving to Vancouver in 1994 for art school, where her solo country-influenced project — Neko Case & Her Boyfriends — took shape. ## Solo discography - *The Virginian* (1997) - *Furnace Room Lullaby* (2000) - *Blacklisted* (2002) - *The Tigers Have Spoken* (2004, live) — first release on Anti- Records - *Fox Confessor Brings the Flood* (2006) - *Middle Cyclone* (2009) - *The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, the Harder I Fight, the More I Love You* (2013) — written during a bout of depression; Grammy-nominated for Best Alternative Music Album - *Hell-On* (2018) — recorded partly in Sweden with Björn Yttling (Peter Bjorn and John) while her Vermont home burned in a fire - *Neon Grey Midnight Green* (2025) ## The New Pornographers Longtime member of the Vancouver indie "supergroup," alongside Carl Newman, Dan Bejar (Destroyer), and others. Joined for their 2000 debut *Mass Romantic*, which brought her wider recognition, and has sung lead on many of the band's best-known tracks since. ## Memoir *The Harder I Fight the More I Love You* (2025) — its title borrowed from the back half of her 2013 album title. Covers a rough childhood ("raised by two dogs and a space heater," per her own description) through to her music career. NYT bestseller. Worth listening to: *Blacklisted*, *Fox Confessor Brings the Flood*, *Middle Cyclone*. Notes to self: - Fill in specific songs that stuck with me and why. - Any live show notes if I ever catch her on tour. - Read the memoir?