This Fool Can Die Now

Nottingham, England singer-songwriter Scout Niblett (real name, Emma Louise, stage name taken from Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird) plays a coarse folk-based indie-rock music where the sudden percussive stabs, errant guitar leads and jagged vocal lines form an uncompromising electric-rustic sound. Her raw power begins with traditional folk and rock forms and then lashes out. Aided by ‘au natural’ producer Steve Albini — and on four cuts by alt.country eccentric Will Oldham, including covers of Marilyn Monroe’s “River of No Return,” Van Morrison’s “Comfort You” and the traditional “Do You Want To Be Buried With My People?” — Niblett captures a primitive fire (“Moon Lake”), an eerie psychotic menace (“Let Thine Heart Be Warmed,” “Your Last Chariot”) and a pastoral calm (“Comfort You”) that makes her music both a challenge and an unusual meditative oasis. Comparisons to PJ Harvey and Cat Power serve as reference points, but only superficially skim her deep, involving sound. Anyone seeking a polished, soothing singer should avoid this album at all costs. But anyone intrigued with music that serves as unrestrained emotional catharsis will find much to work through here.