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Delicate Creatures

by Scarves

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    We're playing live on KEXP on April 5th at 3pm PST! To celebrate, you can score our latest album, "Delicate Creatures," AND the one before it, "Dinner Dates for the End of Days," both on special edition color vinyl. One see through, one not. Both EXCELLENT! For a limited time only.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Delicate Creatures via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 1 day
    edition of 100 

      $30 USD or more 

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    We're playing live on KEXP on April 5th at 3pm PST! To celebrate, you can score our latest album, "Delicate Creatures," AND the one before it, "Dinner Dates for the End of Days," both on Black Vinyl. None more black. Both EXCELLENT! For a limited time only.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Delicate Creatures via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 1 day
    edition of 100 

      $25 USD or more 

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    A color variant just as sweet as you are. Once they're gone, they're gone!

    Includes unlimited streaming of Delicate Creatures via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 1 day
    edition of 200 

      $22.99 USD or more 

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Color vinyl not your thing? You're in luck and the proud owner of a 1 of 100 first edition black LP.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Delicate Creatures via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 1 day
    edition of 100 

      $19.99 USD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $10 USD  or more

     

1.
I got a haircut For a job I didn’t get I’ve been trying to take care of myself And I know that's just How that cards are getting dealt I just wish we were playing Something else Cuz time is a slippery creature That fucker Will wriggle through your fingers And sometimes it feels Like I spent the last decade Stuck in an elevator I thought I was marching towards A brighter future In a pair off brand new sneakers But nothing has ever felt more wasteful Than when I use them To smash spiders In my mother’s basement Cuz cash is a strange bouquet Its petals provide such cruel comfort And I’ve let this last decade Disfigure me Just trying to get it I haven’t seen the ocean since Christmas Still sleeping next to boxes in the basement But in my dreams I’m wearing jeans on the beach While somewhere Deacon Blues plays softly in the distance
2.
I’ve surrounded myself With elegance Broke the bank Just trying to blend in But every time I try And speak their language I just come across As a little kid I’m knocking on the door Of a future That won’t let us in Cuz every hand shake In this city will cost ya And arm and a leg And I’m all out of limbs I’ve been surrounded By elegance Let the vultures Tie knock offs around my neck They claim they’re going To lift you up As they circle high above your head But they’re really just waiting To pick apart the dead I’m knocking on the door Of a future That won’t let us in Cuz every hand shake In this city will cost ya And arm and a leg And I’m all out of limbs I’m just trying to make something real Cuz I am so sick of feeling Just like I’m only Dead batteries Empty calories Just a handful Of useless things Like a prayer for the president Or a letter to your congressman Just a quarter in a broken machine
3.
Jackie is a delicate creature Covered up in tattoos Of tougher ones Ain’t it weird How its in our nature To desire To be dangerous But just cuz You have an image of a switchblade On your shoulder That don’t make you a killer You had gone off leash Well beyond your boundaries And just like every other wild thing You will be punished Just for existing Jackie spent the last decade Digging her fingers Into the clay Just hoping something gorgeous Might take shape To prove that she Exists Her brother the astronomer says “We are all just tiny comets Up against one big rock We can’t do much damage But together We just might Make an impact” You had gone off leash Well beyond your boundaries And just like every other wild thing You will be punished Just for existing And sure You can howl at the moon Or break bottles against The concrete But it won’t make a difference If no one else is listening It’s hard to stay soft When you feel Surrounded By such sharp teeth It’s hard to stay calm When you feel Just like fresh meat You had gone off leash Well beyond your boundaries And just like every other wild thing You will be punished Just for existing We are all just tiny comets We are all just tiny comets Up against one big rock And I hope You make an impact
4.
Heavy Eyes 02:24
It’s been awful night So we are drinking awful wine From the best coffee cups We stole From those all night restaurants Back when we still had Occasions For celebration You look breathtaking Dancing In your ex’s underwear No I don’t care How you came to me Cuz you look gorgeous In barely anything I know your eyes are heavy But please stay up with me Cuz the dreams that are coming Have me terrified And I could use some company To help me Make it through the night You look breathtaking Dancing In your ex’s underwear No I don’t care How you came to me Cuz you look gorgeous In barely anything It’s been a while Since any of our rituals Have had an effect On anything So turn up those speakers And let's see if we Can at least summon the courage To keep going You look breathtaking Dancing In your ex’s underwear No I don’t care How you came to me Cuz you look gorgeous In barely anything
5.
Tide Pools 02:47
I get itchy when I get anxious And I’m trying to find a better way To scratch it But in the meantime I bum a cigarette From a stranger on the beach And I know there are Worse demons then this I think to myself As my ashes mix into the sand I used to find so much comfort In the fact That next to the ocean I’m insignificant But now how small I am Mostly just bums me out You once embroidered Me a picture of a seashell That looks just like The one I’m holding So I return it to the tide pool From where I found it Then take a moment After I realize how easy It would be for me To kill everything in it I used to find so much comfort In the fact That everything is connected But now that mostly Just freaks me out Cuz I don’t want to do any damage But even my footsteps Can be cataclysmic And I don’t want to hurt anyone But even saying goodbye Stings like a motherfucker
6.
Bandits 03:19
We’ve got a blanket on the window To keep the cold out We’ve got a record on the table To cover our breathing We’ve got this small spark That we’ve stolen from the heavens We could hide here all winter Or until the ceiling caves in My dear you have no idea How dire I can be I’d set fire to my diary Just to try and summon you With the poetry Of the smoke rings There are decisions That test your nervous system Worn out t-shirts That determine What future you end up in And it twists my stomach into knots Thinking how unlikely it is Our paths have ever crossed My dear you have no idea How dire I can be I’d set fire to my diary Just to try and summon you With the poetry Of the smoke rings There were nights I would lay awake terrified That you might be The love of my life You still freak me out And you still freak me out My dear you have no idea How dire I can be I’d set fire to my diary Just to try and summon you With the poetry Of the smoke rings
7.
Tell me what were we thinking? I know we were both feeling broken Were we really each other’s missing piece? Or were we just a collection Of jagged edges? Something must always be sacrificed When you are trying to make a new life I once was a bunny in a bear trap Now I am limping away With blood in my teeth And only one leg I was born with an iron lung You were born with a heart of golf Though we tried, how could we lift each other up? When we were both born over encumbered from the start Something must always be sacrificed When you are trying to make a new life I once was a bunny in a bear trap Now I am limping away With blood in my teeth And only one leg I’m sorry I’m not trying to be a broken record I’m just sorry that you got hurt I’m sorry I’m not trying to be another teacher I’m just sorry this is a lesson you’ve learned I’m sorry I’m not trying to be a broken record I’m just sorry that you got hurt Something must always be sacrificed When you are trying to make a new life I once was a bunny in a bear trap Now I am limping away With blood in my teeth And only one leg
8.
Shovels 02:52
Hey are you okay David? You’ve been foaming at the mouth And you claim you know what will save us So you better spit it out! We’ve been talking in circles With our tongues just like shovels Hey, I’m very sorry David, I’ve been planting seeds in the garden Which nothing good can grow from Just a thousand thorns Sprouting from the dirt We’ve been talking in circles With our tongues just like shovels And every word just digs us deeper And every word just digs us deeper We’ve been talking in circles With our tongues just like shovels
9.
It was the first day Of the first war We were ever aware of When you taught me A new word We were both Afraid of That’s when I learned That all my little theories As to why the world is turning Were wrong There ain’t a hamster In the center But a thousand cruel Creatures on the surface Chasing the weaker ones It was the last day Before you disappeared We were in your basement Playing Halo with the lights off When you whispered Something into my ear That still makes my cheeks blush That’s when I learned That all my little theories As to why the world is turning Were wrong There ain’t a hamster In the center But a thousand cruel Creatures on the surface Chasing the weaker ones I dreamt Of a choir of geeks Covered in blood Singing your name on repeat I dream of you so often Sometimes I’m too terrified to sleep
10.
Caesar 04:14
They’re paying me Thirteen an hour To peel the stickers off The bathroom stall walls And I’m grateful for the work But I can’t tell if they look better or worse Than when I started Beauty can be frustrating All the effort It takes to maintain it I will build an effigy To all the things That I used to believe Some ideas look their best When they are burning I didn’t cope With winter well And now I’m living In my mother's basement Again I found this old photograph Where I’m dressed up as Caesar And it's my first Halloween For a second I was the center of the universe But I've been spiraling out Ever since I guess they should have just Dressed me up as an astronaut Instead I will write a eulogy For all the things That I could have been Maybe it's for the best Those dreams are dead Cuz I would have been A terrible president And maybe an even worse Anarchist Though the walls are closing in The windows are too And though the blinds are shut to tight For the light to get through Our eyes will adjust to the darkness And what surrounds us Will come into full view When it does I glad that movement Wasn’t monsters, but was you So let's sing out the only hymn That still means anything We are broken But we are healing

about

What should an artist release into the world in a time of collective darkness? Niko Stathakopoulos of the Seattle,WA outfit Scarves, grappled with this question as he roamed his neighborhood during the heart of both the pandemic and the election cycle, penning the lyrics for what would for the group’s newest record, Delicate Creatures. What initially was a dire batch of songs soon morphed into a vivid portrayal of the unlikely optimism that emerges within humankind as it buckles beneath the weight of the world.

“We’re so attuned to stories of the world ending," Stathakopoulos says. “Or huge odds, huge stakes. What if they’re smaller? What if they’re about personal relationships? What happened in this one moment?”

With each track, Scarves tells relatable, yet distorted anecdotes through a sheen of pop melodies and lush production, a taut thread of unease surfacing in each perfectly dissonant guitar line, in each melancholic turn of Stathakopoulos’ voice. In the act of distilling the collective dread into the vibrant indie-rock chapters that make up Delicate Creatures, Scarves finds the optimism that we perhaps all need. By breaking open the prosaic moments in life—awful wine, obligatory haircuts, worn out T-shirts—Scarves honors the anxiety we all share, as well as our ability to keep pushing against the weight in even the smallest ways.

“Dead Batteries,” becomes perhaps the most literal portrayal of this struggle, opening with a slow and steady beat from drummer Eli Sokolov and Nessa Grasing’s wistful vocal line that together seem to perfectly conjure up the cold weariness that plagued Stathakopoulos during the writing process.

“It’s about licking your wounds in that moment where you’re really frustrated.” Stathakopoulos says, recalling a dark period he spent living in NY, disillusioned by the music industry, struggling to find employment, and ever in the shadow of the election cycle. “I’m knocking on the door of a future that won’t let us in,” He sings. “Cuz every hand shake in this city will cost ya an arm and a leg and I’m all out of limbs.” As the lyrics continue to circle feelings of obsolescence in today’s society, Stathakopoulos promises that there is levity to be found in what can seem like a never-ending battle.

“I think about optimism as continuation of process—I don’t think actions can be pessimistic. If you’re waking up and going against the grindstone in any capacity, that’s an optimistic act.”

In the title track “Delicate Creatures,” Scarves ponders human fragility through an ordinary day that changed in an instant. Inspired by a friend who maintained her composure after busting her lip open on a basketball court, “Delicate Creatures” conjures up the character of “Jackie,” a person who comes to embody the attempt to be strong within an unrelenting world.

“A regular moment can explode into blood so quickly.” Stathakopoulos says. “What does that mean for a human? What are we pushing against by existing?” As he paints the portrait of Jackie, a wild thing, Jackie, a switchblade on her shoulder, he fleshes out her out-frame-opponent through her struggles: “It’s hard to stay soft when you feel surrounded by such sharp teeth / It’s hard to stay calm when you feel just like fresh meat.” Still, Stathakopoulos glimpsed an act of resistance on the basketball court that day, however small, and it is this such act that drives the track’s reluctantly hopeful closing lines: “We are all just tiny comets up against one big rock / And I hope you make an impact.”

The production of the record proved to be an act of perseverance against unprecedented odds in and of itself. After fleshing out demos in Cheney, WA, a college town nearly deserted in the wake of the pandemic, Stathakopoulos and guitarist Nessa Grasing flew their musical partner Eli Sokolov in from New York and hosted him in their basement for a two week quarantine. The trio then headed to Vancouver, WA to quarantine for another couple days before tracking with producer and engineer Brandon Eggleston (Modest Mouse, Wye Oak) in late October of 2020.

“I think there’s some magic in that middle era of the pandemic, where people are like, ‘A thing I can do? Okay!’” Stathakopoulos says of the process, which proved immensely gratifying despite its challenges. The result is a record that revives the creative spirit of late 90’s bands like Built to Spill and Pavement, while crackling to life with the idiosyncratic highs and lows of today.

“I don’t know if the world is gonna end,” Stathakopoulos concludes. “I think we have to exist within it no matter what.”

credits

released August 26, 2022

Niko Stathakopoulos (He/Him): Guitar, Vocals, Casio Keyboard
Nessa Grasing (She/Hers): Guitars, Vocals
Elijah Sokolow (He/Him): Drums, Bass, Keys, Piano, Pre-Production (magic)

Brandon Eggleston (He/Him): Production
Benjamin Violet (They/Them): Album Art
Ed Brooks (He/Him): Mastering

Flora (She/Hers): Studio Dog

Released by Good Eye Records August 26, 2022

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Scarves Seattle, Washington

Your little brother's favorite band.

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