Hell-On
by Neko Case
  • Record Label: Epitaph
  • Release Date: Jun 1, 2018
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 38 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 38
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 38
  3. Negative: 4 out of 38
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this album

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. tsururadio
    Jun 2, 2018
    10
    One of those albums that is good on first listen, but with every additional listen you hear more and more. A lyric nugget, an evocative sound, a hint more insight into Neko Case.
  2. NavyBean
    Jul 9, 2018
    10
    Neko's best yet. Consistently great from opening track to final cut. Love "Gumball Blue" "Sleep All Summer (duet with Eric Bachmann), "Lion of Albion," "Dirty Diamond" "Oracle of Maritime."
  3. Shiftyeyeddog
    Jun 28, 2018
    10
    This is the kind of album that in an ideal world should sell tons and make Ms.Case a bazillionaire.

    Neko Case's 8th album of original solo music is one of those albums that reminds me of classic recordings from the past like REM's Automatic for the People, Paul Simon's Graceland, Peter Gabriel's So. An "alternative" artist can go along making cutting edge recordings and then they come    This is the kind of album that in an ideal world should sell tons and make Ms.Case a bazillionaire.

    Neko Case's 8th album of original solo music is one of those albums that reminds me of classic recordings from the past like REM's Automatic for the People, Paul Simon's Graceland, Peter Gabriel's So. An "alternative" artist can go along making cutting edge recordings and then they come out with something that is all "sweet spot", to use a tennis metaphor.

    The limitation of many “alternative” recordings is that the artist has so much attitude that it can make for not much beyond a clever, detached ironic experience. She started out very much in the alt-country mode, and for me her stuff had emotional resonance as well as smarts at that point, but then she gradually moved away from that roots-y template becoming both more pop but also more precious and arty, lyrically and conceptually, she essentially withdrew emotionally and hid behind her intelligence - which is considerable - not to mention her anger - also not inconsiderable.

    Well she has let down her guard and produced something on which everything falls into place. The social commentary and feminist anger are present and accounted for, but she has delivered them in her finest, most beautiful and poetic lyrics ever, and in a batch of songs which are both edgy, melodic, and emotionally resonant. She’s still an alternative artist, but these songs are as organic and natural as the air we breathe.

    Devotees of her more alt-country stuff, of which I am one, may still find this to be unsatisfying, there’s nary a country song in sight, but for those without that narrow a perspective, this is the kind of album that transcends genres and contains the soulfulness and passion of the early alt-recordings, if not the surface twang.

    Fervent fans of her albums from Fox Confessor to The Worse Things Get might well see it as the latter album with chocolate coating, since it sports similar concerns and obsessions but in a much more poetic yet “accessible” package. So it may be seen as a commercial move, but there’s no compromise here, she hasn't dulled her edge, it's just that this time while being as hard as a diamond, it’s just as beautiful.

    So one is moved to want to hear the songs again and again and I believe more motivated to hear her concerns. This album works for me on every level that matters, lyrically, melodically, and emotionally, from first song to last, I can't recommend this album highly enough, go buy it, go buy it now.    … Expand
  4. Dc99m
    Jun 11, 2018
    10
    Mesmerizing, her best album yet in my book. No other artist creates like Neko, whimsicaly juxtaposing Lynchian dystopia with joyously unrestrained pop sing alongs, in the same song! As a producer, she doesn’t clutter the soundscape, she lets the songs and instruments breath. Those male voices are a welcome texture in her aural nebula too. And of course, that voice of hers... On thisMesmerizing, her best album yet in my book. No other artist creates like Neko, whimsicaly juxtaposing Lynchian dystopia with joyously unrestrained pop sing alongs, in the same song! As a producer, she doesn’t clutter the soundscape, she lets the songs and instruments breath. Those male voices are a welcome texture in her aural nebula too. And of course, that voice of hers... On this album, you discover Neko with every listen, and you only want to discover more.… Expand
  5. jakfromrva
    Aug 30, 2018
    9
    By far her best. Extremely thoughtful lyrics. Every track is really strong. A must have.

Awards & Rankings

48
#48 Best Album of 2018
63
#63 Most Shared Album of 2018

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
85

Universal acclaim - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 22
  3. Negative: 0 out of 22
  1. Dusted Magazine
    Jan 7, 2019
    80
    Hell-On is Case’s most idiosyncratic album, but it’s also her most generous and grounded. It is her strongest--as in it projects strength, the kind that comes with vulnerability.
    Read full review
  2. Rolling Stone
    Jun 7, 2018
    80
    Neko Case's clarion pipes remain the calling card, but on her 8th studio LP, between lyrics and vocal arrangements, they've never channeled more imagination or sense of purpose.
    Read full review
  3. The 405
    Jun 7, 2018
    75
    We are guests in her world, after all, and Hell-On is precisely the breezy rock record we may need right now. If you need proof, any of the 12 tracks here will suffice.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »