STADTSAAL SAMT UNTERGRUND - Scout Niblett

Over the course of 46 minutes and nine songs, It’s Up To Emma simmers, storms and cascades through an alinear tale of domestic emotional crises, all of which are immaculately rendered in Scout’s distinctive songwriting style. The dark news that the record brings is good news for Scout’s fans, who look to her to get under the skin and, as if in a trance, live through these songs in an attempt to get everyone a bit of clarity. In Scout’s eyes, the slowly uncoiling spirit world dances with the more chaotic animal called man. Friction between partners generates gradual tension, a sudden fracture that explodes from a backdrop of darkly bruised ego blues. Meanwhile, stars slip icily in and out of constellation mode. It wouldn’t work if Scout weren’t such a powerful singer or if her insistent guitar lines didn’t echo so, or her records weren’t so carefully produced to stand the stark details of the performance out against a lush, deeply black backdrop.