Sweet Heart Fever

The songs' spare arrangements, usually consisting of Niblett slowly plucking her guitar while Kristian Goddard counts along on the snare, create a backdrop that evokes Niblett's blues and folk precursors; her sultry, warbling vocals recall those of Swedish singers Stina Nordenstam and Lisa Ekdahl.

While stripped-down orchestration sounds like a recipe for coffee-shop-style background music, Niblett's aesthetic leans toward the creepy in such a way that her music becomes hard to ignore. This doesn't necessarily make it easy to embrace, but it will help you through the few songs it takes to recognise and appreciate Scout Niblett's eye for the perverse and her exceptional skill in creating a soundtrack to the uncanny moments in life. --Sarah A. Sternau