\It gets real annoying, but you just have to ignore it,"" Scout Niblett says of the comparisons between her and Chan Marshall, the woman behind Cat Power. ""I had these ideas of like, next time someone mentions it in a review or actually says 'You remind me of Cat Power,' being like, 'Well, should I just, like, not make a record, then? Do you just want to go out and buy a Cat Power or PJ Harvey record instead?' I mean, it's gotten to the point where it happens that often.""
To be fair, musically the two do share some common ground. Both subscribe to a philosophy of unpredictable songwriting, playing intimate songs marked by unexpected twists and turns, and both are capable of turning those songs into an emotional frenzy. Beyond that, however, the two artists' recent approaches couldn't be more different: while Cat Power's music has only mellowed with age, Scout Niblett's has become more hectic. Most noticeably, her latest album, last year's excellent Am, contains a number of songs featuring only drums and vocals.
That may seem like an overly minimalistic approach to music, but it's certainly a bold and effective one--Scout's persistent percussive pounding and assertive shouts from behind the kit are, to say the least, more immediate than anything Cat Power has ever recorded. That these tracks stand in such sharp contrast to the quiet vulnerability of her guitar-based songs only adds to Scout's mystic.
Lyrically, Scout Niblett is also in a world of her own, prone to quirky tangents and bold declarations of romance and sexuality (such as on 's ""12 Miles,"" where Scout assures the listener ""I have this body, it means you can touch me""). Yet the comparisons remain persistent.
""I just think that there aren't many female singer/songwriters [in indie-rock], so that when you're actually out there doing that, as a woman, people don't even try and compare you to a man in a lyrical context,"" Scout says, showing a hint of uncharacteristic resignation from behind her British accent. ""They just automatically use the sound of your voice or the sound of the music rather than actually what you're saying. That's what annoys me, really.""
Largely, though, Scout sounds chipper and is happy to be on the road again, still touring in support of her last album and an upcoming single, also recorded with legendary rock producer Steve Albini. She'll bring her dynamic one-person show to Madison Saturday night, when she headlines the Union's Party in the Dark festival, an after-party complementing WSUM's Party in the Park. Adventurous music lovers can expect her show to be a mix of songs sung from behind the drum kit and songs performed on guitar.
When asked about the direction her music is heading, Scout admits that lately she's been devoting most of her attention toward writing songs on the more conventional of the two instruments. ""I still love playing the drums and that's kind of the thing I get most excited about,"" she explains, ""but, purely practically, because when I'm traveling on tour I can't really pick up the drums in the hotel room; it's a lot easier just to pick up the guitar.""
Still, Scout largely credits the drums for giving her music confidence and helping her find her own distinct voice musically.
""You can't really play the drums without it being something bold,"" she says.
