Customer Reviews

So Long, Scarecrow

5 star:		(70)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This album was so amazing I couldn't stop listening to it. It has great vocals with amazingly well-played instruments with lyrics to match. My fave song on this album is called "in the pretend world". it always leaves me wanting more from this amazing band. I can't wait to hear what they will do next. Keep up the good work.

After we were left with a beautiful aural bruising in 2004, L.A. based Scarling. could have driven their music many different ways. Every single song on their seven-track debut, Sweet Heart Dealer, left a different impression. It's hard to imagine before listening to So Long, Scarecrow, that Scarling. could create yet another different mark, having left so many already. Nevertheless, each of the thirteen tracks taken from this stunning LP have new emotion and new beauty whilst retaining the depth and texture which makes their sound so original in the first place.

The opening track is the first step at introducing you to a whole new plethora of feeling. Firstly Beth Gordon takes one cannon-fuelled bang on the drum and the two seconds you wait, for the rest of the album to start, with a distant fading of sound seems like a lifetime. Like small children at a sweetshop, you're then dragged in by a multitude of stimuli. Jessicka adds sincere vocals that warm to the heart. The mixture of melodic majesty that pours from the guitars of Christian Hejnal, Derik Snell and Rickey Lime is the kind of music you only wish you could create.

Being able to manage a profusion of sound that resonates music made by My Bloody Valentine and yet having a completely archetypal sound at the same time takes absolute genius. From songs like "Northbound On (Cahuenga)" that create a quiescent atmosphere to the noise-pop "City Noise", it's clear that Scarling. have created a masterpiece. If you've ever wanted to effectuate love, all you need do is hit play.

Accessible chaotic beauty bleeds through your stereo on "Stapled To The Mattress". Every word that splits from Jessicka's lips fractures the valves in your heart.
... "You're naked,
And shaking,
Like a two-bit Judas," ...describes exactly how you feel when you're still only forty-five seconds into the song. This song is an emotional reflection of the album as a whole. It's the perfect picture of a stunning range of talent: lyrically, musically and vocally.

It would be extremely easy to write pages about each song that appears on So Long, Scarecrow but this album has mystery like no other album I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. Perhaps "Sweet Heart Dealer" was an experiment, an idea, a step-between a previous and a present. "So Long, Scarecrow" is evolution, a future and a whole lot more that you're just going to have to not stop listening to ...

Being a big fan of Jessicka's first musical triumph, Jack Off Jill, I wanted to support her new band. I was pleasantly surprised that Scarling's first songs made me very happy, and eager to hear more, even though I knew the band was supposed to be nothing like Jack Off Jill. There's nothing of the innovative, even plain strange riffs from Jack Off Jill, or from their first album, 'Sweet Heart Dealer' on this CD, though - and it's just not that much fun to listen to. The only song I've really liked on the CD is 'Bummer' because it has a catchy "ba bop ba" chorus, and 'In The Pretend World' and 'Caribou and Cake' are interesting enough, but most of the other songs just plain bore me. I enjoy listening to lyrics, but even the lyrics aren't catchy enough for me to get into, and the music is just very repetitive throughout the CD. One song blends into another, and pretty soon, you find yourself falling asleep. The sounds just aren't original, and I would have been happier if they had carried along in the direction I thought they'd been headed with 'Sweet Heart Dealer.' The CD itself is just plain baby blue with no words whatsoever on it, and it accurately describes what the contents therein.. just plain bland, blah, and boring. I would still recommend 'Sweet Heart Dealer' to anyone interested in supporting Jessicka's newest efforts, or in supporting new bands in general, but I am afraid to recommend this CD to anyone who isn't going to use it for relaxation or for falling asleep to..

So, I tried out the new Scarling album, So Long, Scarecrow. Unlike their last release which was only an EP, this one is a full-on LP and basically twice as long. I had high hopes for it, but after listening I have to say I was pretty let down. That's not to say it's bad, it's just not anything special in really any way.

Their EP, Sweet Heart Dealer, was smart, edgy and simultaneously sweet and brutal. Jessicka's trademark childlike vocals beautifully meshed with the distored guitar and layered drums the rest of the band provided. They were dynamic and had an excellent balance of energy, making them fully capable of going between faster and slower pieces mid-song very cohesively.

On So Long, Scarecrow a lot of this is lost. Jessicka seemingly attempts to force herself to push away from the vocal style she is known for and instead sounds a little above a whisper most of the album. The dynamic, alluring aspects of her voice are largely masked, although she does break out again on a few songs. I'm not sure if she just felt this fit the songs better or if she's trying to separate herself from her Jack Off Jill past.

The music itself, barring a few tracks, just has no real energy. It's the type of distorted wall of noise you'd expect from a band that takes cues from My Bloody Valentine, only made far more low-key and dull. Some of it seems like the mastering... as if the levels were just pulled way down to create a "suffocating" effect. Sadly, thanks to this, the songs blend almost entirely into one another. I skipped around a few and jumped into them at random times and almost couldn't tell I went to a different track. A good portion of them just run too long as well; there's no reason for "Hello London" to be over five minutes in length.

I don't want to right out call it "generic", but that's probably the best description for it... No one that listens to their self-proclaimed influences is going to find anything new or overly special here.

Perhaps Scarling are best suited for shorter EPs. Perhaps the EP was somewhat of a fluke. Perhaps they're just in a place now that won't interest me and in the future they'll do something I'll really love again. Perhaps I'm just in the wrong mood for this type of music. I have no idea what the "issue" is, but I'm not all that happy with it.

All I really know is that I put back on Sweet Heart Dealer right after this and appreciated it even more than I have in the past.

Scarling make heartfelt, genuine music that sometimes screams out at the listener and at other times whispers in their ear. This was an album I found very reminiscent of a band they cite as one of their influences, my bloody valentine. As many fans do, I started off listening to Jack off Jill and moved onto Scarling later. Although I love both bands I can empathise with the music Scarling makes in all my moods, not just my angry ones. My favourite song on the album is 'we are the music makers' with its strong beginning, and also the song 'so long, scarecrow' itself, in which Jessicka's vocals fully demonstrate the emotional maturity and richness which it did not have in Jack off Jill, although those heady days were a lot of fun and she has always been a very talented woman. As for Christian, Beth, Rickey and Derik- what beautiful music you have formed to back up the vocals! All in all a beautiful record, full of dark insight and angelic moments. I love it.

So Long Scarecrow - the latest offering from SCARLING strikes a few new chords. This sanguine offering from this group of noisepop merchants proves to be very satisfactory indeed. The previous releases have been a tease and an indication of the greatness to come. Here unfolds a great and varied collection of tunes that retain the same hallmarks - the distorted and soaring My Bloody Valentinesque guitars and the girlish intonations of Jessicka, but on this outing there are some new subtelties. Yes there's a new depth on this album, as can be heard in the likes of "(Northbound on) Cahvenga", with its slow introrspective pace. Like any good band SCARLING are showing great signs of maturity and things can only get better for them. The new wave of shoegazers have some great tunes to sink their teeth into!

In comparison to Scarling's earlier releases, So Long, Scarecrow by far
stands out as a determined effort of a band that has matured its sound
into something convincingly emotional. The undercurrent of dark-wave
throughout this collection creates an rueful experience that lends
itself for repeated listens...not just for sing and song, but for the
metaphysical message that is resting just beneath the surface.
Its edgy at times, like walking on pins and needles, while being
confessional enough to read like an anonymous diary.

Consistantly, the music flows together track to track, with much praise
to the band that holds the foundation with crashing guitars, explosive
drumfire, and stark basslines. Jessicka's vocals have a tortured lulluby
quality throughout this entire album. She's intimate, breathy, and close
enough to wipe tears.

This is music for the disenchanted, the heartached, and the introverted
lovers of serious music.
I felt, many times while listening, as if the rest of the world was on
pause and I was observing reality through the eyes of a hollow vessel.
So Long Scarecrow, thanks for the ride.

This album is as dark as it gets without losing its beauty. Every song is delivered with such an emotional attatchment that its hard to leave the world Scarling has created in your heart and mind. Amazing musicianship and Jessicka's vocals bring this album together to an apocalyptic end. A very addicting album.

If You want Jack off Jill then listen to Jack off Jill (DUH!!!) You have to give yourself time to absorb what Scarling has to offer like any band with a distinct identity, I am a huge JoJ fan but I find Scarling to be an intensely emotional band! This album sounds like it was written on a rainy day. For those of you who have had your heart broken and trampled you should easily be able to indentify with the mood the album sets. "Hello London" opens this masterpeice with a dark stormy feel and lyrics that take the listener deep into their own world to explore their misery ( "I am aching you are still, don't find you arrogant-fascinated-unfufilled"). As the sound of opening track leaves you practically in a puddle of your own tears, the 2nd track "City Noise" comes blasting in just long enough to beat you senseless ("It's the final kiss from a lovers fist it's the reason why you can't cry") "Broken Record" is worth the price of the CD alone. The only song that I could take or leave is "Bummer" and it's still decent it's more for a heartbroken teen! I feel alot of people aren't getting into Scarling because they miss Jack off Jill, so I just wanted to state as a HUGE Jack off Jill fan that it took some time and some repeated listen's to really understand what makes this band and this album so great! Now I actually prefer Scarling over Jack off Jill it's more musical and obviously emotional! I do hope that the next album will have those angry over the top screams that Jessicka can only produce, but for this album the singing style totally works and shows what a strong voice she actually possesses! So stop comparing and just enjoy a new dimension of Jessicka's musical genius. Some of the other songs that deserve mention are: "In The Pretend World" " " Like a Killer" and probably my favorite song on the whole album " Caribou And Cake" Burn Down the Kingdom YEAH YEAH!!

So Long Scarecrow is everything you'd expect from Scarling. and more. You can tell from the first few minutes of the album that it is one you will love.
Fans waited, quite impatiently, for the first full-length album and now they are not disappointed!
I highly recommend it. If you are already a Scarling. fan, you'll love it as much as Sweet Heart Dealer. If you're unsure whether or not Scarling. are "your thing", this will persuade you. And if you have no idea who Scarling. are - buy this and you will be enlightened!
5 stars. Definately.