One of Scarling.'s many definitions is the smallest mark left on your heart - yet after hearing Scarling. the band, you'll agree their sound is anything but small. With the release of 2004's critically acclaimed "Sweet Heart Dealer" (Produced by Chris Vrenna), an album that ultimately led them to a Short List Award Nomination, Scarling. has been capturing the hearts of their steadily growing cult fanbase, with their knack of redefining noise and chaos within the context of pop songs and expanding the ventricles of gloomsters and fey indie rockers alike. In 2004, Robert Smith handpicked Scarling. as one of the seven acts to tour with his Curiosa Festival, along with Interpol and Mogwai. When asked about how she felt being able to play with one of her long time favorites, Jessicka simply replied: "The Cure has always been one of the only bands I found worthy of surrendering everything in exchange for nothing. They have yet to break my heart."
Although The Cure's influence is evident, it's the collision of their collective diverse influences as well as the ability to properly utilize feedback and noise that gives Scarling. their signature sound. A sound created roughly six years ago in Los Angeles, when noise theorist Christian Hejnal and surname-free singer Jessicka bonded over an unbridled hatred of the legion of clinging parasites and soulless zombies choking the life out of music. After a series of 7" singles on Sympathy, Scarling. announced in early 2005 that their second album "So Long, Scarecrow" would appear later that year; it was preceded by the single "We Are the Music Makers", and was released on October 23, 2005.
The critical reception for Scarecrow was generally strong: Alternative Press gave the album a [5/5] 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 the while delivering solid songs."
The Independent 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 (magazine) described the album as "the musical equivalent of an Edward Gorey illustration: ominous and shadowy, but not without a certain sense of morbid joy. Sly lyrics and sarcastic insights pepper Scarecrow’s dystopian soundscape."
SLS's first single "City Noise/Staring To The Sun" was released on 6-6-06 and is featured on the compilation "Alright, This Time Just the Girls Vol. 2" and in the documentary The Treasures Of Long Gone John. Scarling.'s music has been featured on Showtime's The L Word television series, and an episode of the medical drama Grey's Anatomy is entitled Band Aid Covers The Bullet Hole. In 2006 Scarling. continue to tour in the US and Europe and are expected to begin working on their third full length album in 2008.
On February 2, 2021, Jessicka announced on Twitter that she was no longer a part of the music industry, stating that she was now "finding other ways to release my negative emotions while trying to be kinder to myself."
Hello London
Scarling. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I am aching you are still
Don't find you arrogant
Fascinated – Unfulfilled
While People far away wish me harm - they wish me ill
Not you, Kiss you on the mouth oh yes - oh yes I WILL!
All our friends agree
Lately I've forgotten you
Know you'll remember me
Cause I am spinning round and round like a record in your head
Seizing your subconscious until you wish me dead
Hello LA
With your mesmerizing stare
I know I'm not in love with you
Though I highly doubt you care
While people crowd your streets – choking on your poisoned air
Not me, kiss your dirty mouth oh yes - oh yes I DARE!
We are paranoid
All our friends agree
Lately I've forgotten you
Know you'll remember me
Cause I am spinning round and round like a record in your head
Seizing your subconscious until you wish me dead…..
The lyrics of Scarling.'s song "Hello London" are enigmatic and open to interpretation, but it seems to be about a tumultuous and addictive love affair that the singer is desperate to maintain. London, and later Los Angeles, are used as symbols of this all-consuming passion, where the singer is torn between their love for the city and the person they desire.
The first stanza finds the singer in London, longing and achingly searching for their love interest. They express how they are fascinated and unfulfilled by the mysterious person they are in love with, while also being aware of the hostile intent of others. Despite the danger, the singer still wants to kiss their loved one and be close to them. The second stanza sees the singer in LA, acknowledging the city's mesmerizing charm and acknowledging their hesitation to fall in love with it. They also express their resilience towards the city's negative influence, and their daringness to love and kiss even its "dirty mouth."
The chorus, "We are paranoid all our friends agree, lately I've forgotten you, know you'll remember me," highlights the singer's internal struggle and the possibility of their love being unrequited or forgotten. It also implies that they have a strong hold over their loved one's subconscious, and the memory of them will never fade away. The last line, "Seizing your subconscious until you wish me dead," suggests that the singer is so deeply intertwined with their loved one's psyche that they will haunt them forever.
Line by Line Meaning
Hello London
Greeting the city of London
I am aching you are still
Expressing longing for someone or something in London that has not changed
Don't find you arrogant
Not perceiving London as having an attitude of superiority
Fascinated – Unfulfilled
Being intrigued by London but not finding it satisfying
While People far away wish me harm - they wish me ill
Facing hostility and negative intentions from some individuals elsewhere
Not you, Kiss you on the mouth oh yes - oh yes I WILL!
Favoring London despite the negative attention from others and expressing a desire to kiss the city
Hello LA
Greeting the city of Los Angeles
With your mesmerizing stare
Describing Los Angeles as captivating
I know I'm not in love with you
Acknowledging that one does not have romantic feelings for Los Angeles
Though I highly doubt you care
Assuming that Los Angeles does not reciprocate the lack of romantic interest
While people crowd your streets – choking on your poisoned air
Observing the overcrowded and polluted nature of Los Angeles
Not me, kiss your dirty mouth oh yes - oh yes I DARE!
Despite the negative aspects, expressing a willingness to kiss Los Angeles
We are paranoid
Acknowledging a state of anxiety or suspicion
All our friends agree
Stating that others share the same feelings
Lately I've forgotten you
Recently having forgotten someone or something (specifically in reference to London)
Know you'll remember me
Feeling confident that London will remember the individual despite the forgetfulness
Cause I am spinning round and round like a record in your head
Implying that London cannot forget or shake the individual
Seizing your subconscious until you wish me dead
Asserting a strong grip on London's thoughts and suggesting the intensity of the individual's hold goes so far as to cause London to wish them harm
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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