''So Long, Scarecrow'' is the second and final
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by the rock band
Scarling.
Scarling. was an American noise pop band formed in Los Angeles in 2001. The band consisted of lead vocalist Jessicka Addams and guitarist Christian Hejnal.
Name
The band's name comes from a fictional word created by singer/fine artist Jessicka ...
Written and recorded in early 2005, and released on October 25, 2005. It is Scarling.'s only album to feature drummer Beth Gordon. Its title is a reference to ''
The Wizard of Oz'': in lead vocalist
Jessicka
Jessicka Addams (born Jessica Fodera on October 23, 1975) is an American visual artist and retired musician. Best known by her stage name Jessicka, she was the frontwoman for the alternative rock band Jack Off Jill, and later for the noise-po ...
's view, the film's
Scarecrow
A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin, often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.Lesley B ...
is a metaphor for the band itself; the character's initial lack of and search for a brain, she explains, parallels Scarling.'s search for new territory in a predictable and monotonous musical environment.
The album was preceded by the single "We Are the Music Makers," a split 7-inch with
The Willowz
The Willowz are an American garage punk rock band from Anaheim, California. The band was formed in 2002 when Richie James Follin (guitar and lead vocals) and Jessica Reynoza (bass and vocals) were both 18 years old and attending the same coll ...
, and has been reissued on
vinyl
Vinyl may refer to:
Chemistry
* Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer
* Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation
* Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry
* Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...
by
Sympathy for the Record Industry
Sympathy for the Record Industry (also known as Sympathy Records or Sympathy 4 the R.I.) is a mainly independent garage rock and punk label formed in 1988 by Long Gone John. The first Sympathy release was the Lazy Cowgirls' ''Radio Cowgirl'' LP ...
with alternative cover artwork by Mark Ryden.
Production and composition
Nearly twice as long as the band's debut, ''
Sweet Heart Dealer
''Sweet Heart Dealer'' is the debut studio album by the rock band Scarling., released on February 17, 2004, through Sympathy for the Record Industry, Sympathy For The Record Industry. Originally scheduled for release as ''Butcherbourne'', the a ...
'', ''So Long, Scarecrow'' differs from its predecessor not only in length but also in terms of musical atmosphere. This is largely due to the switch in producers between the two albums — from former
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...
member
Chris Vrenna
Chris Vrenna (born February 23, 1967 in Erie, Pennsylvania) is an American musician, producer, engineer, remixer, songwriter, programmer, and founder of the electronic band Tweaker. Vrenna played drums for the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails ...
, whose abrasive, industrial-style production appeared on ''Sweet Heart Dealer''; to
Rob Campanella, of the psychedelic rock group
The Brian Jonestown Massacre
The Brian Jonestown Massacre is an American musical project and band led and started by Anton Newcombe. It was formed in San Francisco in 1990.
The group was the subject of the 2004 documentary film called '' Dig!'', and have gained media noto ...
, and Scarling. guitarist
Christian Hejnal
Christian Hejnal Addams (born June 3, 1969) is an American visual effects producer and the guitarist and occasional vocalist of the Los Angeles-based rock band Scarling.
Musical career
In the early 1990s, he played in bands such as Candyhatefu ...
, himself influenced by
noise rock
Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...
and
No Wave. The album was recorded at Campanella's studio,
the Committee to Keep Music Evil
Anton Alfred Newcombe (born August 29, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and founder of the music group The Brian Jonestown Massacre.
Newcombe was the subject of the 2004 documentary film '' Dig!'', along ...
Headquarters/Figment Sounds.
Reception
''So Long, Scarecrow'' received several favourable reviews: ''
Alternative Press
Alternative press may refer to:
Individual publications
* ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine
Alternative journalism
* Alternative media
** Alternative media (U.S. political left)
** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...
'' gave the album a 5 out of 5 rating and described Hejnal as a "guitar physicist who holds court over these atmospheric rockers’ second album, approximating everything from space-station climates to sperm whales rollin’ on E, all while delivering solid songs." ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' noted “Scarling. work up a wonderfully hazy guitar swirl, reminiscent of post-
My Bloody Valentine noise-pop from the Britain of the early nineties.” and ''
Bust
Bust commonly refers to:
* A woman's breasts
* Bust (sculpture), of head and shoulders
* An arrest
Bust may also refer to:
Places
* Bust, Bas-Rhin, a city in France
*Lashkargah, Afghanistan, known as Bust historically
Media
* ''Bust'' (magazin ...
'' described the album as "the musical equivalent of an
Edward Gorey
Edward St. John Gorey (February 22, 1925 – April 15, 2000) was an Americans, American writer, Tony Award-winning costume designer, and artist, noted for his own illustrated books as well as cover art and illustration for books by other w ...
illustration: ominous and shadowy, but not without a certain sense of morbid joy. Sly lyrics and sarcastic insights pepper Scarecrow’s dystopian soundscape, proving that Scarling has picked up more than just wardrobe inspiration from vets like
the Cure
The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...
." While Jon Wiederhorn said, "guitarist Christian Hejnal, Scarling provide the much-needed element of violence and sexuality other modern shoegazers lack."
[Wiederhorn, Jo]
Modern Shoegazers and Pedal Pushers The emusic Dozen
/ref>
Track listing
Personnel
*Jessicka
Jessicka Addams (born Jessica Fodera on October 23, 1975) is an American visual artist and retired musician. Best known by her stage name Jessicka, she was the frontwoman for the alternative rock band Jack Off Jill, and later for the noise-po ...
— vocals
*Christian Hejnal — guitar, bass, producer, mixing
*Rickey Lime
Rickey Lime (born Anna Goodling August 20, 1980) is an American guitarist who is best known for her bands Shotgun Won and the Los Angeles-based rock band Scarling.
History
Anna Goodling grew up in Cottage Grove, Oregon, but spent much of her ...
— guitar
*Beth Gordon — drums
*Rob Campanella — producer, engineer
*Erik Colvin — producer, vocal tracking
*Richard Mouser — mixing
*John Vestman — mastering, mixing
*Piper Ferguson — photography, cover art
*Mark Ryden
Mark Ryden (born January 20, 1963) is an American painter who is considered to be part of the Lowbrow (or Pop Surrealist) art movement.Ken Johnson"Mark Ryden: ‘The Gay 90s: Old Tyme Art Show" ''The New York Times'', May 6, 2010. Retrieved 2013 ...
— alternate LP cover art
References
{{Authority control
Scarling. albums
2005 albums
Sympathy for the Record Industry albums