Scatter the Rats

Scatter the Rats is a studio album by American rock band L7, released on May 3, 2019 through Blackheart Records.[2] It is the band's first album in almost 20 years, following the band's 2014 reunion. It has received positive reviews.[3]

Scatter the Rats
Two women with leather jackets photographed from behind
Studio album by
L7
ReleasedMay 3, 2019 (2019-05-03)
StudioHappy Ending Studios and Sunset Sound in Los Angeles, California, United States
Genre
Length36:11
LabelBlackheart
Producer
L7 chronology
The Slash Years
(2000)		 Scatter the Rats
(2019)

Recording and release

Scatter the Rats is the first L7 studio album in 20 years and was recorded with Norm Block and Nick Launay at Happy Ending Studios and Sunset Sound in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was preceded by the singles "Burn Baby" on February 28[4] and "Stadium West" on April 22.[2] The band announced a 21-date tour to support the release, covering the United States in mid-2019.[5] The release follows the band reforming in 2014 and releasing the non-album singles "Dispatch from Mar-a-Largo" in 2017 and "I Came Back to Bitch" in 2018.[6]

Reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic63/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Exclaim!7/10[7]
Pitchfork6.6/10[8]
Rolling Stone[9]
Under the Radar5/10[10]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Scatter the Rats received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 63 out of 100 from seven critic scores.[3]

Pitchfork Media gave the album a 6.6; Dayna Evans' review criticized the lyrics on one track, "Murky Water Cafe", as ("lines that resort to cliché or grab at low-hanging cultural fruit feel not only dated, but cringeworthy") and musicianship ("They sell themselves short by assuming they were just another meat-and-potatoes rock band, and on Scatter the Rats’ weakest moments, they actually sound like one.").[8] Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic gave Scatter the Rats 3.5 out of five stars, writing that they are "cramming crunchy guitars and lurching rhythms into an updated stew of nasty punkabilly bounce, heavy metal muscle, and no-frills rock & roll" while stating that L7 "still snarl and pack a vicious punch".[1]

Rolling Stone praised the album citing the strength of the band's "pile-driving guitar riffs and quirky ear candy."[9] LA Weekly singled out the song "Stadium West" as "classic L7: punk fuzz and drone, with spit and fire in all the right places".[6] Exclaim!'s review from Zahraa Hmood gave the album a seven out of 10 but criticized it for being inconsistent, with immature songwriting in the middle tracks.[7] James Thornhill of Under the Radar gave a middling five out of 10, praising the guitar work and punk attitude of select tracks but noting that this is a weak outing for an iconic punk band and that the songwriting here does not live up to their 2017 and 2018 reunion singles.[10]

Track listing
  1. "Burn Baby" (Donita Sparks) – 2:31
  2. "Fighting the Crave" (Suzi Gardner, Sparks) – 3:22
  3. "Proto Prototype" (Gardner, Sparks) – 3:12
  4. "Stadium West" (Sparks) – 3:43
  5. "Murky Water Cafe" (Gardner) – 4:00
  6. "Ouija Board Lies" (Sparks) – 2:59
  7. "Garbage Truck" (Jennifer Finch) – 2:27
  8. "Holding Pattern" (Sparks) – 3:06
  9. "Uppin' the Ice" (Sparks) – 3:33
  10. "Cool About Easy" (Gardner) – 3:22
  11. "Scatter the Rats" (Finch, Gardner, Demetra Plakas, Sparks) – 4:27

Personnel

L7

Other personnel

References
  1. Yeung, Neil Z. "Scatter the Rats – L7". AllMusic. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  2. Grant, Sarah (April 22, 2019). "L7's New 'Stadium West' Video Is a Prismatic, High-Speed Night Ride". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  3. "Scatter the Rats by L7". Metacritic. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  4. Minsker, Evan (February 28, 2019). "L7 Detail First New Album in 20 Years, Share Video for New Song 'Burn Baby'". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  5. Kaye, Ben (March 19, 2019). "L7 Announce 2019 Reunion Tour Dates". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  6. Callwood, Brett (May 1, 2019). "Scatter, Rats! L7's Back with Their First Album in 20 Years". Los Angeles Weekly. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  7. Hmood, Zahraa (May 2, 2019). "L7 Scatter the Rats". Exclaim!. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  8. Evans, Dayna (May 3, 2019). "L7: Scatter the Rats Album Review". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  9. Grow, Kory (May 3, 2019). "Review: L7 Take No Prisoners on Comeback Album Scatter the Rats". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  10. Thornhill, James (May 30, 2019). "L7: Scatter the Rats (Blackheart)". Under the Radar. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
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