Early June brings the release of yet another Pamplin-signed artist. Scarecrow and Tinmen's sophomore effort entitled Superhero is a bit of a departure from the pop sound of their debut album No Place Like Home.
The band has certainly matured musically since their debut. Lyrically and vocally, this album retains the fervor and passion of their previous release. However, due to changes within the band and changes in album production, Superhero has quite a different musical feel. Chris Padgett, front-man and one of two remaining original members said, "If you've seen the live show, it's more like the live show than the first album. There's [still] a lot of strong harmony lines and melody lines, but [Superhero] has more of the loops and the rock edge that we have in our live performance."
The live show contains a great deal of energy and creativity which Padgett hopes to be able to communicate to fans through the album. "That's kind of been a goal of ours to have that vibe that takes place in our shows somehow make its way to our album," he said.
There is a definite edge to the music. Vocals are stronger, lyrics are still as creative as ever, but without some of the whimsical and childlike parallels to Oz. Musically driving, the screaming electrics, solid bass lines, and strong drums featured in the live show make the transfer to the recording with the same intensity. The close harmonies contribute to the overall tightness of the album.
The album opens with the energy charged "Jesus is God," and the intensity doesn't decrease from there. Similarly to the first album's title track, "No Place Like Home," "This Much" tells of God's unconditional love for His children. The album concludes with the soulful declaration in "Crossroads" to, "Walk with Him forever and leave this world behind."
Like the first album, Superhero was produced by John and Dino Elefante with significant input from guitarist Brad DeRosia. Padgett said the second album embodies more of the band's personal goals and direction simply because of DeRosia's involvement in the recording process. "We were able to have a lot more say in ideas and thoughts and John and Dino were gracious enough to allow us that privilege. We felt like this time around was more of a reflection of where we were heading."
The album is definitely a departure from their debut effort. The edginess of the new album captures, in a sense, the personalities of each individual band member. This album would add a musical kick to one's CD collection.
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Other coverage for this album
The Phantom Tollbooth 2000Reviewed by Bert GanglOn their 1999 debut, No Place Like Home, Scarecrow & Tinmen served up a fairly diverse musical bill of fare consisting of rock, pop, folk and funk. For their sophomore release, Superhero, the band has opted to work, for the most part, from a similarly eclectic palette. A substantial number of the songs, like "God Is Good," are built on the now-familiar energetic and distorted guitar treatments…The Phantom Tollbooth 2000Reviewed by Eric DaamsThe odds were stacked against Scarecrow & Tinmen as I received it in the mail to review: I had read numerous bad reviews of their debut on Pamplin; I'd read the other Phantom Tollbooth review of Superhero; the song titles didn't seem to indicate much lyrical depth ("Jesus Is God," "God Is Good," "Groovy," etc.). The odds won. In pretty much every way, this is an average album. Average lyrics,…Similar sounding releases
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