Scout Niblett

Scout Niblett – This Fool Can Die Now

Existing somewhere between the plaintively-voiced catharsis of Cat Power and the raw emotionally power of PJ Harvey, Scout Niblett has made an album that can lull your child to sleep one minute, and shake a filling loose the next. Counting the four wonderful slices of precious folk duets with Will Oldham (aka Bonnie “Prince” Billy / Palace Music) along with a few others, Scout Niblett’s minimal-arranged compositions can dazzle you with merely a drum kit and a voice (“Moon Lake”) or the soft-rock aesthetics of her Van Morrison cover “Comfort You“ (and Will Oldham has never sounded more delightful in-key and warbleless). But when the ferocious pounding opens on “Let Thine Heart Be Warned”, Scout Niblett matches the bruising heavy blues energy with full-throated vocals that can curl your fingers into devil horn. Recorded by the exacting hands of Steve Albini (who also produced PJ Harvey’s early albums), This Fool Can Die Now captures Scout’s spunky roar with precision and clarity. Recommended.