Formation and Rough Trade Records (1985–1990) Guitarist and vocalist Marcy Mays met bassist and backing vocalist Sue Harshe in 1984 while Harshe was visiting her boyfriend in Athens, Ohio, and the two quickly became friends. Skull changed its name to Scrawl and Sanseri was replaced by Carolyn O'Leary. Scrawl received offers from
Homestead,
Twin/Tone and
Rough Trade Records. Following a performance for all three labels at
CBGB in New York City—which Mays later recalled as "one of the worst" the band played—Scrawl signed to Rough Trade in the spring of 1988. The band then recorded their second album, ''He's Drunk'', at
Paisely Park Studios in Minneapolis. Released in October 1988, the album had sold 4,000 copies by 1990. Following its release, Scrawl toured with
Firehose; they continued to tour the United States in support of the album until March 1989. After a hiatus due to O'Leary breaking her arm, Scrawl recorded their third album
Smallmouth with producer
Gary Smith in November 1989. Released in October 1991 through Feel Good All Over Records, Around the time of its release, the band played shows with
the Afghan Whigs and
My Bloody Valentine. In May 1992, O'Leary left Scrawl. The following month, the band released the 7" single "Misery (Someone Is Winning) / Just Plain Bad", before embarking on the "
Foxcore, My Ass" tour as an acoustic duo. In January 1993, Scrawl worked with Albini again for the recording of
Velvet Hammer, which was released on November 8, 1993. In the fall of 1994, the band embarked on a tour of Europe and performed at the
Reading Festival in the United Kingdom.
Elektra Records (1996–1999) In 1996, Scrawl were signed to
Elektra Records by A&R rep
Terry Tolkin. The band released its major label debut,
Travel On Rider, in August 1996. The band toured the Northeastern US in October prior to a supporting tour with
Wilco. For their sixth album,
Nature Film , Scrawl re-recorded six of their Rough Trade-era songs and a cover of
Public Image Ltd's "
Public Image", alongside six new songs. Harshe said that the band wanted to re-record their old songs as they had changed and "become more fluid live" over the years, and because "the thought of giving [Elektra] 12 new songs seemed depressing to us" due to the label's lacklustre promotion of
Travel On, Rider. The album was released in May 1998 The band resumed touring in 1999. In 2007, Scrawl reunited to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Little Brother club in Columbus, with Jovan Karcic, formerly the guitarist of fellow Columbus band
Gaunt, joining as their new drummer. That same year, Harshe formed a new band, Fort Shame. The band has continued to tour and perform since then. In a 2023 interview with
Matter News, Mays shared that Scrawl had started creating new instrumentals together since the summer, with plans to eventually release a new album, though they have set no deadlines.The band performed at the 2024 edition DromFest in Catskill, New York, and at the 2025 edition, with
Tsunami's Luther Gray filling in on drums. == Musical style and influences == Scrawl have been described as
indie rock and
post-punk. The band's first two albums,
Plus, Also, Too and ''He's Drunk
, were described as indie pop. Gregory McGovern of Hot Press'' described the band's style as "minimalist
rock ‘n' roll". In a 1995 interview with
The Michigan Daily, Harshe highlighted Mays' background in
country and
western music and her own interest in 1970s pop music as elements she thought came through in the band's music. == Reception and legacy ==