Nottingham, England's Scout Niblett is a confident woman. Some may say that her use of a blonde wig in performance may contradict this, but wig or not, the music on I Am, her follow-up to 2001's Sweet Heart Fever, could only be made by someone that is self-assured. Scout Niblett isn't afraid to leave herself open to scrutiny as several tracks feature just her voice and drums or ukelele. In unconfident hands/voices these bare arrangements could be reduced minimalist dribble.

There are, however, a few tracks where Scout Niblett is accompanied by Chris Saligoe on guitar and Pete Schreiner on drums and these tracks ("Drummer Boy", "No-Ones Wrong (Giricocola)") truly rock with Scout Niblett's voice reaching a fevered frenzy. Amazingly, between the solo tracks and those with accompaniment, the album transitions smoothly and for this much credit must be given to Steve Albini and his ability to create a consistent and full sound — that signature drum sound is in total effect.

The blonde wig used "as a facilitater for playfulness and the desire to create magic" has delivered fully on I Am and in honor of her magical creation I'll borrow a line from "It's All for You":

Give me a 'm'
Give me an 'a'
Give me a 'g"
Give me an 'i'
Give me a 'c'
For the magicians