Scout Niblett told Exclaim! the tunes off her 2010 set The Calcination of Scout Niblett were "basically looking at myself in a critical way," and the Portland-based indie songwriter will keep her gaze inward on her next album, It's Up to Emma. The self-referential LP (her given name is Emma Louise Niblett) is her second for Drag City and it hits retailers May 21.
According to a press release, the nine-song album "storms and cascades through an alinear tale of domestic emotional crises," with Niblett's powerful vocals and guitar playing set atop a "deeply black backdrop." Sound samples have yet to arrive, but "Gun" is teased as "terrifying," possibly in part due to its reportedly explosive snare hits.
While the studio sessions found Niblett joined by musicians Jose Medeles, Dan Wilson, Saunder Jurriaans, Danny Bensi and Emil Amos, the press sheet adds that she finished off the recording on her own at home. It also points to the Rollins Band's 1992 LP The End of Silence being a touchstone for Niblett during her own record's incubation period.
In particular, it references the lyrics to Rollins' "Low Self Opinion," which might give us an idea about where Niblett's coming from on an LP that "looks at how to face the truth of being stripped of 'the other.'"
It's Up to Emma:
1. Gun
2. Can't Fool Me Now
3. My Man
4. Second Chance Dreams
5. Woman and Man
6. All Night Long
7. No Scrubs
8. Could This Possibly Be?
9. What Can I Do?
According to a press release, the nine-song album "storms and cascades through an alinear tale of domestic emotional crises," with Niblett's powerful vocals and guitar playing set atop a "deeply black backdrop." Sound samples have yet to arrive, but "Gun" is teased as "terrifying," possibly in part due to its reportedly explosive snare hits.
While the studio sessions found Niblett joined by musicians Jose Medeles, Dan Wilson, Saunder Jurriaans, Danny Bensi and Emil Amos, the press sheet adds that she finished off the recording on her own at home. It also points to the Rollins Band's 1992 LP The End of Silence being a touchstone for Niblett during her own record's incubation period.
In particular, it references the lyrics to Rollins' "Low Self Opinion," which might give us an idea about where Niblett's coming from on an LP that "looks at how to face the truth of being stripped of 'the other.'"
It's Up to Emma:
1. Gun
2. Can't Fool Me Now
3. My Man
4. Second Chance Dreams
5. Woman and Man
6. All Night Long
7. No Scrubs
8. Could This Possibly Be?
9. What Can I Do?
