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Superhero Artist: Scarecrow & Tinmen Label: Organic Records (2000) Length: 10 tracks/41:20 minutes

On 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 that define the post-grunge rock template. Others such as "Groovy" embellish that basic sound with touches of R&B and '60s-era psychedelia.  While these songs certainly exhibit the group's sizable competency on straight-ahead pop-rock numbers, the band seems to really hit its stride as it dips into a more offbeat cache.  The sunny disposition and semi-playful "doo doo doo" vocals on "The Reason" give the eminently infectious tune a sound akin to a cross between the Partridge Family and the Sesame Street theme.  And the combination of dissonant vocals, hokey lyrics and odd sound effects makes the title track a shoe-in for the score to a long-forgotten science fiction B movie. The band's ample vocal and instrumental skills are largely overshadowed, though, by their tendency to borrow too liberally from other artists.  The hip-hop groove of Big Mouth," for instance, is nearly archetypal Nu Thang era dc Talk, complete with dead-on vocal imitations of both Kevin Max and Toby McKeehan. "Get Off My Back" pays more than its fair share of tribute to the distinctive funk groove of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition."  And the guitar melody line of "Jesus is God" is lifted, practically note for note, from Cream's 1967 hit, "Sunshine of Your Love."

Just as Superhero's musical side is decidedly less than pioneering, its lyrics are significantly beset by the same innovative deficit.  In fairness, the lion's share of the album's mostly evangelistic messages are put forth with bold, clear language.  But, while titles like "God is Good" and "Jesus is God" may be forthright enough with regard to their respective themes, lyrics such as (Jesus is God/ Why don't you believe) and (God is good/ All the time/ All the time/ God is good) are hardly the stuff of Shakespearean prose.  Similarly, the sentiment of songs like "The Reason" (Superstars and fancy cars/ The glitter, glitz and glam) is delivered mainly by way of cliche', and the title track (The guilt from all of my sins/ Was just like kryptonite) simply verges on silliness.  Occasionally, as on the pleasant ballad "This Much," the group succeeds at making comparatively profound statements, but more often than not, their efforts ultimately stall under the weight of awkward and unoriginal wording.  Of course, it may be that, with song titles such as "Bionic Son" and lyrical statements like (All that Jesus did/ It's so groovy), the group's intent is tongue-in-cheek humor and not serious statement.  And, at least in that regard, they succeed, creating music that is both buoyant and fun.  But the overabundance of musical styles covered points more to a band grasping for a unique sound than to one expanding upon it.  All said and done, although the album abounds with both light-hearted humor and musical agility, the overly derivative nature and pedestrian wording of Superhero offer little incentive for repeated listening.

Bert Gangl 5/29/2000

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 Elephante 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.

Kerry Maffeo 06/14/2000

The 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, average songs. Sure, there are some highlights: the oh-so-sweet lead guitar riff on ‘God Is Good’ and the Newsboys-y tune ‘The Reason’ both give the album some merit. 

I’d like Superhero a whole lot more if it wasn’t so sugary. The project lacks edge. For some, that may mean they will love the record. For others, like me, it makes for a disappointing release. Next time around, I hope Scarecrow & Tinmen put their skillful musicianship to better use. 

Eric Daames 06/27/2000