June 19th, 2005
Scout Niblett - Kidnapped by Neptune
Scout Niblett 
Kidnapped by Neptune ****
From the moment Scout Niblett sings: “Sitting on the banks of a glassy river, Mercury flew down to tell me a storyâ€? in her achy, split-open vocals, you know this is going to be something special. Niblett sings with an intensity that makes your spine tingle and will remind many of PJ Harvey or in quieter moments, of Emiliana Torrini. As well spilling raw vocals all over the tracks, she plays drums, bass, guitar and piano on here. One of the most striking things about the songs are the experiments with tempo. Just when you think a song is one of quiet contemplation, it reverses and pulls off in another direction, as on ‘Pompom’. ‘Fuck Treasure Island’ is a cross between alt country lament and tribal mantra and the sheer percussiveness of the whole album almost distracts from Scout Niblett’s brittle vocals.
Recorded with the ubiquitous and seriously talented Steve Albini, the production is immaculate, notably the drum sound. On ‘Lullaby For Scout in 10 Years’, they rumble ominously like thunder, as they do on ‘This City’, with its spooky piano and Kate Bush overtones. Listening to this album on headphones isolates intricate layers of stereo not often heard on many records. What makes Kidnapped by Neptune so intriguing is that in being stripped right down to a virtually empty core, it opens right up. There are no flourishes, no excesses, except emotion in a voice that is sharpened in relief against simple drum/guitar combinations. Proof that less is definitely more.
Info: www.toopure.com