Scantron Falls Back Into Their Sound With "Electric City"
Scantron, fronted by Low Cut Connie guitarist James Everhart, has been an active project for the better part of a decade, though their efforts feel fully realized with the release of their latest EP, 2020’s Electric City. After spending six consistent years out on tour with Low Cut Connie, Everhart decided to take a step back from the band in 2018 to firmly re-plant his roots in Philly. The goal was to reestablish his own sound and identity, and the result is a collection of heavy-hitting rock songs with snags of blues, bedroom fuzz, and swirling psychedelics. Electric City is proof that Everhart has been able to maintain his relevancy as a solo artist while still backing a well-established band.
Everhart, who goes by the moniker Jimmy Scantron, stated early on that "Scantron EPs never usually have underlying themes, simply because we aim to write songs that can stand alone as singles rather than as parts of a whole. That being said, these tunes were all written at a time when I was feeling particularly angsty and vulnerable as I transitioned into a new career and lifestyle after my time on the road." I made sure to note the disclaimer before I dove in, and I think it holds up. These songs are sufficient in their own right, and can easily represent the band’s sound and image on their own as well as a whole, it just depends on what facet of representation the band is choosing to take.
The opening track, “Dreams,” kicks off with a guitar riff that feels physically heavy on the ears, enveloped in hard fuzz and propelled by lyrics wrapped in denial. The driving force behind this track is arguably the loneliness and anticipation of living a sort of tumbleweed lifestyle and missing people who can’t go out on the road with you. Loving someone who doesn’t understand the touring life can be taxing on both of you, and I think the core of this song is the intense burn of wanting both things at once, but knowing that you’ll likely have to sacrifice one in order to satisfy the other.
Followed by the restless “White Linen Sheets,” a self-described “sonic daydream,” tells an age-old story of sleepless nights and agitation. The guitar hook has an infectious swagger, comparable to a Rolling Stones song, with stop-and-start vocals that bounce back and forth between stacked choruses and standalone verses, allowing Everhart to play with layered sounds. There are palpable elements of psych rock in this one, which I love. The loose and loud, shapeless vocals and the eclectic electronics pit this song as a polar opposite to the EP’s opener.
“Tip Top Inn” is percussion-heavy, with conversational vocals that aren’t quite as out there as “White Linen Sheets,” and dueling guitar solos complete with wah wah filters. It might be the most melodic track on the album, and listens like such a classic blues rock song. Scantron does a really great job of playing with time. This song has such a vintage feel to it, but the lyrics keep the listener placed right in the now.
The closer, “In There / Out There,” feels like the perfect resolution. It starts off fast, and then as soon as the lyrics break, the pacing cuts back and the vocals are backed by a really sweet background chorus of ahh’s. It listens like the end of a movie. This feels like a credits-rolling kind of song. It also feels like it’s going to end on a cliffhanger and we’re already going to want the next Scantron release immediately.
“I know you’re in there / I know you’re out there / am I seeing double”
It’s a song about duality, push and pull, give and take. Surely it mimics the feeling of wanting to be out on the road, and wanting to go home. It mimics the feel of belonging both everywhere and nowhere all at once, as is the life of a touring musician.
These songs are just different enough that they could certainly stand alone and represent Scantron for what they are, but they’re all intricately woven together in a way that makes them undeniably off the same release. The most consistent element is likely Everhart’s vocal technique and freewheeling guitar sounds. The rest is up for an oxymoronic specific experimentation of noise. This is a rock album on the surface, with deep layers of psychedelia and blues and fuzz. It hits hard, and I’d say it hits home. This is, to the core, what Scantron should be recognized for.
The band plays Ortlieb’s on February 22nd with Lifters and Todd Fausnacht. Stream Electric City below the cut.