scarstory. written by Anti-France
Once upon a time, in a dirty, dingy, nefariously owned Los Angeles club that no one hardly ever goes to anymore, singer Jessicka (ex-Jack Off Jill) met guitar player and future writing partner Christian Hejnal. Their relationship was combustible from the beginning, and although they had no interest in playing music together, they exchanged numbers anyway on the off chance that one fine day they might see eye-to-eye. That day finally came to pass during an impulsive get together at a rehearsal space in the dismal San Fernando Valley during one of the hottest summers Los Angeles can remember. Says Jessicka, "It was amazing - so amazing that we almost forgot how disgustingly hot it was in the valley that day - almost. I think that's where the seed was planted to start a band together, though neither of us let the other one know."
Two months later, after Jessicka sang on a track Christian had written, they were ready to acknowledge the musical chemistry that had blossomed between them and began writing. After collecting enough songs, the time was ripe to recruit a band. But like a caterpillar in its chrysalis, scarling. still needed time to evolve. After several line-up changes, the band's current - and best and most beautiful - incarnation was solidified. The boys, Garey Snider (drums) and Kyle Lime (bass), are pretty enough to pass for girls; and guitar player Rickey Lime (formerly of all-girl Olympia-based Shotgun Won) brings a tougher meaning to the term "'40s pin-up queen".
But lest you think this is the story of a band that is all about style over substance, beauty over musical brawn - think again. Influenced by everyone from My Bloody Valentine, Loop, Lush , The Pixies and Sonic Youth to the Cure, The Velvet Underground, to The Melvins, scarling. is an amalgam of sound and texture, perversely experimental and sonically assuming. But unlike a few of those aforementioned bands, scarling.'s talent lies in their ability to create actual song structures from noise and chaos. Try to listen to scarling's first full length album SWEET HEAT DEALER, produced by Chris Vrenna and released on Sympathy For the Record Industry on March 19th, (coincidentally the same day as cover artist Mark Ryden's "Blood" show and Bush's declaration of war - how's that for combustible?) without the inability to eradicate the chorus from your head.
The scarling. story is nowhere near close to being completed. This is only the first chapter, so put on your reading glasses, pour yourself a glass of something strong , and settle in for a long, hard ride. And don't get too comfortable - dark and menacing, scarling will always be ready to creep up on you from behind and invite you to a one-on-one game of spin the bottle so they can French-kiss you with a mouth full of razorblades. Days later you'll wake up to find that you've been infected with something that, while it makes you anxious and uncomfortable, is also warm and seductive.
What they say about scarling. "Scarling. sounds like being French kissed by the most beautiful beings in the world, and then being unable to stop the bleeding. Really alluring yet massive stuff." Alternative Press
"The Addams Family In Wonderland" the FADER
"Like the Cure with bigger distortion pedals and a violent case of PMS." F.S.N.E ZINE
"In a time when music is so easily descriptive and predictable, Scarling have one great thing going for them, they have a truly original sound. They are a great rock band that will appeal to fans of The Cure, Lush, My Bloody Valentine and Sonic Youth." STATUS
"You're left with feeling you've been kicked in the gut by an angel." ROCKRGRL
"One look at Scarling might suggest that they're a new batch of Goth-inclined neo-hipsters ready to sell themselves to America's disaffected youth in the wake of the breakthrough of Evanescence. However, while a spin of their debut full-length, Sweet Heart Dealer, confirms that legions of mopey kids should go for this big-time, it's also clear that this band has an awful lot more going for them than the surfaces might suggest.
Mark Deming- allmusic.com
"SCAR-What? WHO-ling? No, I didn't put anything out by them. You must have the wrong guy!" Long Gone John- Sympathy Records anti mogul & head honcho
