Scout Niblett |
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Anyone previously familiar with Scout Niblett may remember her as a heartfelt songwriter, often being compared to Cat Power or PJ Harvey. Fair enough. She has always been full of potential, but here in 2003, I Am is her biggest release thus far and it is the perfect opportunity to turn her potential and credibility into the songs that speak to millions, and produce a competitor to Cat Power’s You Are Free as the album that gets people re-excited by the female singer/songwriter once more. That’s not quite how it has worked out, though, and not only is this record unsettling at points, it also verges on terrifying.
Recorded in four days with the assistance of Steve Albini, the album lives in a similar place as PJ Harvey’s Rid of Me. Now, I’ve long stood against the ways of Albini. Start me off and I’ll rant and rave about the albums he’s strangled to death; Rid of Me being one of them. Rarely does anyone agree with me, but I don’t care, and it means his name frequently strikes fear into my heart. Thankfully, this time around he doesn’t particularly bother me. His influence basically seems to be that he pressed the record button, and let Scout record each song in one take whilst he was out drinking milkshakes. It leads to some nervous, uneasy listening, but I can live with that as it’s clearly the effect she was seeking.
In fact, overall it resembles a collection of demo recordings rather than a polished album. Numerous tracks only make use of drums and vocals, which is not the way to make a hit record. The drums remain as raw and untreated as is possible on a rock record, so it feels like you are sitting there in her rehearsal space listening to her battering away in a practice session. Then her vocals come in on top, singing her melodies in one take, with her voice switching from vulnerability to gut wrenching screaming whenever you least expect it. The imperfections of the vocal tracks are also left bare to be picked apart, but instead of just creating a cringe factor, it reeks of raw emotion, and I for one wouldn’t have wanted to be sitting in that studio and looking into her eyes.
I’ll be honest, though. At first those drum tracks left me praying for a guitar to come in and soothe me with some additional melody. It’s certainly unusual to be listening to a woman singing alone whilst playing drums and it takes some getting used to, so I was delighted whenever she sways back towards a more traditional approach to music; a prime example being ‘Until Death’, one of the finest guitar moments of the album. It never comes close to being a pop song, but the dissonant melodies from the guitar and vocals also generate some genuine beauty, meaning it is one of the most accessible tracks on the album.
On the other hand, ‘Drummer Boy’ takes the opposite route, and without warning the guitar is screeching and you’re faced with Scout turning heavy metal and screaming “I can’t wait till morning, I gotta go now!” at you. Then there is ‘Your Beat Kicks Back Like Death’ where she sweetly sings “We’re all gonna die” over and over, on top of what I would refer to as the drum part from ‘Love Makes the World Go Around’ by the Powerpuff Girls. Firstly, I dare you not to be moved, then I double-dare you not to be afraid.
Finally there is the instrumentation behind ‘Fire Flies’, which feels like the soundtrack to sarin being released into subway, and leaves you watching people battering at the windows before they collapse to the ground. It’s quite easy to visualize Scout as the messenger of death, smiling, whilst walking along the train carriage, playing guitar. Ironic really, considering her real life persona is supposedly so sweet and friendly but there is obviously a dark beast lurking below her exterior, and it enjoys ripping through and taking over whenever she gets behind a microphone.
So yeah, I Am is a pretty fucked up album from certain perspectives. If this was played in a bar, it would have the same effect as putting on some Emperor or Dimmu Borgir – people would probably get up and leave. This isn’t black metal though. This is indie rock, and who’d have thought one young woman could create such an atmosphere with just a drum kit, guitar and her voice. It’s almost begging for you to hate it so I’m sure many probably will, but I’m also sure that Scout will be delighted that so many were so easily put off.
For those of you remaining and seeking something a little more challenging in your life, turn up the volume as loud as you can handle and embrace the abrasive nature of it all. Think of it as a lethal rollercoaster ride and seek out pleasure from the raw emotions of love and death presented to you.
Steven McCarron
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