***1/2 Scrawl

TRAVEL ON, RIDER

(Elektra)

There's always been more to Scrawl than meets the ear. On a string of indie albums (for Rough Trade and Simple Machines), singer/guitarist Marcy Mays and bassist Sue Harsh presented material that sounded like quaint little diary-entry songs with country/folk overtones -- until you noticed the sneaky chorus hooks and loaded emotional situations. Making their long-overdue major-label debut with a newish drummer (Dana Marshall, the first male in the band), Scrawl haven't changed their approach. There's still a basic honesty in the writing and the uncluttered sound, and the songs remain catchy in a modest way. They're just polished a little brighter. Mays has emerged as a fine singer who makes the most of an appealing Midwestern drawl; Steve Albini, of all people, gives them their fullest production yet. The songs stick with the sad/haunting mood Scrawl specialize in. "The Garden Path" is about being jilted by a friend rather than a lover. "From Deep Inside Her" is apparently about being jilted by oneself. And "Easy on Her Mind" and "What Did We Give Away" are the kind of deep-and-lonely songs that make for great middle-of-the-night commiseration.

-- Brett Milano

(Scrawl play at the Middle East this Saturday, October 5, with the Technical Jed.)