Biografia

Scarling. was formed by singer Jessicka Fodera (known simply as Jessicka) after the dissolution of her band, Jack Off Jill. She and guitarist Christian Hejnal began rehearsing and recording in a San Fernando Valley performance space; after the pair had written a number of songs together, they began a search for additional band members and eventually cemented the first and very short lived lineup of Scarling.

In early 2002 Jessicka was introduced to Long Gone John, owner of Sympathy for the Record Industry, by mutual friend Mark Ryden. On March 19, 2003 Scarling’s debut single, “Band Aid Covers the Bullet Hole”, (produced by Chris Vrenna) was released on the Sympathy for the Record Industry label. Its cover featured an illustration called “Wound 39” by Mark Ryden. Scarling’s style and material are heavily influenced by 1990s-era Shoegazing bands such as My Bloody Valentine, Lush, and Loop as well as by the 1990s riot grrrl scene that had also inspired Jessicka’s previous band Jack Off Jill.
In April of 2004, Scarling. released their debut album, Sweet Heart Dealer, a seven-song, thirty-three-minute amalgamation of sound and texture which again utilized the team of Ryden and Vrenna. Later that year, Jessicka was featured on the cover of ROCKRGRL magazine’s vocalist issue. Scarling was then invited to join the lineup of the Robert Smith-curated Curiosa Festival, performing on select West Coast dates alongside Interpol, The Rapture, Mogwai, Cursive, The Cooper Temple Clause, and longtime inspirations The Cure. Smith described the band’s music as “dark, desperate, chaotic, gorgeous pop music, the sound of the end of the world” and nominated “Sweet Heart Dealer” for the 2004 Shortlist Music Prize. Three weeks before joining the Curiosa tour, drummer Garey Snider was briefly replaced by Samantha Maloney and soon after by drummer Beth Gordon. Scarling with the help of friend and fill in bassist Radio Sloan, continued to play around Los Angeles and San Francisco at high profile clubs such as, The Bottom Of The Hill, Spaceland and The Troubadour.

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 August 23, 2005. So Long, Scarecrow was co-produced by Rob Campanella, formerly of The Brian Jonestown Massacre, at his studio, The Committee to Keep Music Evil Headquarters. The critical reception for Scarecrow was generally strong: Alternative Press 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 noted that “Scarling. work up a wonderfully hazy guitar swirl, reminiscent of post-My Bloody Valentine noise-pop from the Britain of the early nineties.” Bust (magazine) called the album “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.” While The Charlotte Observer revealed “Scarling. discovers its own sound, illustrating growth and revealing a quieter, more intimate, yet accessible side.”

In December of 2005, Scarling. embarked on it’s first UK tour creating a buzz for themselves and selling out most venues. SLS’s first single City Noise is featured on the compilation Alright, This Time Just the Girls Vol. 2 and 2006’s Staring To The Sun.

In 2006 Scarling continued to tour in the US and Europe, embarking on their first co-heading with UK shoegaze outfit Amusement Parks on Fire and opening for The Wedding Present and Depeche Mode later in the year. They are expected to begin working on their third full length album in 2007.