The Ovarian Fist

Women Who Rock: The Testimony of Scout

Some women you can’t help but fall in love with a few times over, no matter how hard you may try. Of course, some women are thoroughly a pleasure to fall in love with again and again, and those you succumb to with renewed fever and a revived sense of elation.

I fall in love with Scout Niblett a little bit more every time I hear a song of hers, and I know I’m not the only one. After all, who could possibly resist those nudging dark eyes and that hopelessly homeless attire? It would be cliché to compare her to a siren, though her wailing vocals do lead me straight to her citadel each and every time my ears catch a hitch of her resonant howls.

And yet here I am once again; Scout has released a vibrant new musical endeavor and I welcome it with open ears. I hadn’t even known that a new work was in the midst until it was here, suddenly grinning up at me from my copy of Bust (hey, I read it for the music and book reviews. Everett True’s “First Ladies of Rock” is a brilliant installment). Of course I plugged right in, and of course I was contented. Scout never fails to deliver.

As always, on The Calcination of Scout Niblett Scout works on the constant battle between spatial silence and ardent guitar work (that or deep, hounding drums), Thematically she continues to inject her soothsaying vocals into each song, assuring us that she “knew this was going to happen,” whatever “this” may be. She’s there, she’s been there, and now she wallows in it like an experienced soul. This may sound like the same Scout to you, but I assure you that it isn’t. Not entirely. This Scout took a pilgrimage to Anywhere and came back fiercer than ever.

Indeed, there is something slightly different about The Calcination. This album is more self-certain. Scout acknowledges herself in the strongest of ways, especially in songs such as “The Calcination of Scout Niblett”. She beats her guitar like usual, sways her vocals like a stray cat, and howls her way into the night of self-made rock and roll. She’s calcifying her own creative bones. She often invokes the gist of it all with one “yeah”, whether it’s wily and free or restrained and cornered. It soars, no matter the context. She waves to you on the cover of her album, blowtorch in hand, telling you without a doubt that she’s making changes and you’re going to have to participate or abstain. Perhaps you should just sit back and watch, lest you get burned.

Scout, you see, is simply becoming an expert at what she does best. You can hear the years that have passed since Sweetheart Fever and I Am, and even the more recent This Fool Can Die Now. Scout is refining her grit to a tee. She’s managed to keep her spirit and her fire, though she’s becoming less like the frumpy street corner soothsayer and more like the certified sirenic prophet (still homeless, though).

Old favorites like “Drummer Boy” and “Miss My Lion” now seem like build-ups to this present Scout, surefire rungs in the ladder upward and onward. Progressions as it should be, not settlements or creative compromises. A certain logical refinement, a growing and spreading like branches. You always have the roots, of course; they cannot be forgotten. If you simply stick to the roots, however, you’ll never see any visible growth. Like so many of the best artists Scout has her roots, she’s built herself a steady trunk, and now she’s simply working on her branches.

Emma Louise Niblett, you have my heart. Please do abuse it like one of your guitars.

Off The Calcination of Scout Niblett:
Scout Niblett- The Calcination of Scout Niblett
Scout Niblett- Lucy Lucifer

And for those who were previously unfamiliar with Scout, a few older works:
Scout Niblett- Drummer Boy (I Am)
Scout Niblett- Let Thine Heart Be Warmed (This Fool Can Die Now)

Also, please indulge in this awesome video:
Scout Niblett featuring Bonnie Prince Billy- Kiss

Scout’s Official Website

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