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- Date Released: October 15, 2007
- Genre: Alternative/Punk
- Label: Too Pure
Scout's motto: dare to experiment.
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We Say...
The idiosyncratic, lo-fi punk-blues of Emma "Scout" Niblett has stood as a polarising force within the UK underground scene for the best part of the noughts. Early performances and recordings saw Niblett hollering sparse rhymes over nothing but a drumbeat, her Midlands accent as buried in American inflections as her appearance was disguised with wigs and costumes.
But what at first seemed like a compelling but one-note DIY performance piece has developed into a body of work both moving and masterful: an exercise in conveying great emotion via carefully constructed personae that has echoes in forebears such as PJ Harvey, Björk, Will Oldham (who guests on this record), and even perhaps Nick Cave Niblett’s songwriting has finally developed beyond instinct and into real craft.
Her fourth album is a collection of beautifully arranged songs that move from gentle country to angular, modal avant-rock, anchored by Niblett’s compelling vocals. On the two Oldham duets, she imbues straightforward country songs with odd urgency and tenderness, with lyrics hinting at an almost morbid sense of the epic and eternal. Single "Kiss" hews close to Niblett's usual lo-fi template, augmenting it with strings and layered backing vocals. Both of those elements reappear throughout the album, giving it a gravitas and maturity that could convert those who found Niblett's previous material too raw.
Fans of Niblett’s more confrontational, experimental sounds will not be disappointed. The spooked "Let Thine Heart Be Warmed" explodes in distorted riffing and martial drumming, "Nevada" evokes the swinging discord of prime Pavement and "Hide and Seek" recalls the quiet/loud guitar scree and odd-intervalled melodies of In Utero-era Nirvana, ending as it does with a piercing feedback squeal.
Niblett’s love of American indie rock and alt country remains strong, but some of her tunes now recall medieval music and British folk tunes. Likewise, her lyrics are now as likely to use arcane, poetic idioms as they are to speak directly about her internal world — with the result that her more intimate songs, such as the gospel-tinged "Comfort You" pack a surprising emotional punch. Niblett may play with image and identity, but her sure-footed songwriting and creative intent is never less than utterly honest — and here it pays off, beautifully. -
They Say...
After four albums that garnered regular (and not unwarranted) comparisons to both Cat Power and PJ Harvey, British born, Oregon based singer/songwriter Scout Niblett has turned her sights to something a bit more exploratory. Throughout This Fool Can Die Now, there's a subtle but unmistakable experimental feel very much akin to Scott Walker's more recent albums, such as Tilt and The Drift. Of course, it's not as if these 14 songs sound like Walker -- no one sounds like Scott Walker but Scott Walker -- but there's a similar fascination with minimalism, repetition, and dramatic dynamic shifts, and throughout this album, Niblett experiments with her vocal phrasing and range in a very Walker-like fashion, veering unexpectedly from a flirtatious coo to raw, throaty shrieking to a Karen Dalton-like folk-blues wail. The resulting songs aren't completely foreign to Niblett's longtime fans -- the opening "Do You Want to Be Buried with My People?," a duet with Will Oldham, is familiar countrified alt folk -- but there is a bracing fearlessness to This Fool Can Die Now that finally fully differentiates Scout Niblett from the rest of the "weird folk" boomlet.
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| 01. |  |
Do You Want To Be Buried With My People? |
5:46 |
|
| 02. | |
Kiss |
6:11 |
|
| 03. | |
Moon Lake |
2:03 |
|
| 04. | |
Let Thine Heart Be Warmed |
3:48 |
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| 05. | |
Your Last Chariot |
2:35 |
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| 06. | |
Black Hearted Queen |
3:33 |
|
| 07. | |
River Of No Return |
2:37 |
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| 08. | |
Nevada |
5:29 |
|
| 09. | |
Baby Emma |
3:33 |
|
| 10. | |
Yummy |
4:37 |
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| 11. | |
Dinosaur Egg |
3:53 |
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| 12. | |
Hide And Seek |
5:09 |
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| 13. | |
Comfort You |
2:55 |
|
| 14. | |
Fishes And Honey |
4:12 |
|
| 15. | |
Pluto |
3:29 |
|
15 Total Tracks, 59:50 Total Length
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Credits
- Steve Albini - Engineer // Alison Chesley - Performer // Scout Niblett - Performer // Chris Saligoe - Performer
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