Middle Cyclone is the fifth studio album of American alternative country singer-songwriter Neko Case, released on March 3, 2009, on the ANTI- record label.

Thematically Middle Cyclone concerns how Case's upbringing socialized her to form strong emotional attachments to nature and animals, to the neglect of human relationships, and her reconciling "the fact that I need love".

[3][4] Middle Cyclone features a variety of guest performers, including M. Ward, Garth Hudson, Sarah Harmer, and members of The New Pornographers, Los Lobos, Calexico, The Sadies, Visqueen, Kurt Heasley of Lilys, and Giant Sand.

[10] The final track, "Marais La Nuit" (French for "Marsh at Night"), is an actual field recording of the environs around a pond on Case's farm.

In a news article entitled "Neko Case, Reigning 2009 Album Art Champ", Matthew Solarski of Pitchfork Media, stated "So Fox Confessor Brings the Flood had some awfully lovely, subtle artwork.

The video also provided fans a first listen to parts of "Magpie to the Morning", "This Tornado Loves You", "Middle Cyclone", "Polar Nettles", and "Fever" (in addition to two already featured at Bumbershoot: "Don't Forget Me" and "People Got a Lotta Nerve").

The first single from Middle Cyclone is "People Got a Lotta Nerve", which initially was released as a free download on January 13, 2009, on the ANTI- blog[18] and the day after on their website.

[19] In celebration of Best Friends Animal Society's 25th anniversary in 2009, for every blogger that reposted "People Got a Lotta Nerve" or iLike user who added it to their profile, Neko Case and ANTI- made a cash donation to the charity.

[18] On February 24, "People Got a Lotta Nerve" was featured as a downloadable track in the "Alt Country Pack 01" extension for the video game Rock Band 2.

[20] Case was interviewed and performed "People Got A Lotta Nerve" live for QTV on February 24, accompanied by Paul Rigby on acoustic guitar and Kelly Hogan on backing vocals.

[24] The animated video, created by brother/sister team Paul and Julie Morstad,[25] depicts a red-headed schoolgirl – ostensibly Case – who is ejected from a killer whale's blowhole onto the grounds of an estate.

The schoolgirls' childlike activities (climbing, swinging, walking on stilts, jumping rope, piggy-back riding, pillow fighting, and clapping games) take place near and even on animals such as elephants, greyhounds, tigers, rheas, falcons, and monkeys.

"[16] The New York Times' Daniel Menaker praised her "real richness and body," writing that "She has often been described as a belter, a force of nature, a kind of vocal tornado.

So this increased admixture of playfulness, delicacy and orchestral effects strikes you as the kind of variegation that artists — and species — make in order to survive and thrive.