Scout Niblett

This flaxen-haired English rose is Steve Albini’s muse, for better and for worse. On this year’s The Calcination of Scout Niblett (an Albini joint, as always), Niblett mines favored tropes of astrological damnation and fated love with a honeyed Cat Power croon, though the scorching instrumentation sounds more like In Utero. Set to a minimal backdrop of guitar fuzz and propulsive drums, Niblett’s raw, effusive voice channels all those born under punches and a really bad sign, sweetly concentrating on the dark honesty of it all. With Holy Sons.

Wed., Oct. 6, 6:30 p.m., 2010