Scrawl

UK first press 1989. Sleeve has minor shelf wear and OG price sticker. Though Scrawl still sounds ragged and tentative in the studio, He's Drunk is much better than their debut, with across-the-board improvement. The band sounds more comfortable with each other and the first instances of the band's knack for committing catchy folk-punk to tape peek through ("Green Beer," "Breaker Breaker"). Rough production cramps some of the tunefulness, but it's not as demo-sounding as their previous LP. One of Scrawl's distinct features over bands of their time was their ability to handle familial relationships and friendship issues without sounding dopey; "For Your Sister" is one such example. A cover of Felice and Boudleaux Bryant's "Rocky Top" lends a bit of a cow-punk edge, and a rare occasion where Scrawl show their sense of humor (also see their Paula Abdul homage on Bloodsucker) looms on a version of "Let it All Hang Out": "Black clothes, white white tan/ That's the way I catch my man, uh huh”.