By JOHN DALY
The Los Angeles scene has a way of bringing musicians together and that’s the case of the new Jail Weddings Sister project Sirens In The Night, which premieres its debut EP, To Hell With Our Youth here at California Rocker.
With Sirens In The Night, Gabriel Hart — known for his futuristic outfit Jail Weddings — has put together a modern-throwback girl group side project that includes a few overlapping players. The band’s new EP, To Hell With Our Youth, is a welcomed respite from the dizzying and uninspiring gaggle of digital releases that beg for the support of in-person performances.
The difference is the Sirens In The Night band casts a twisted reflection of the Ronettes meet Bananarama, then smashes that to bits with industrial, outer-orbit synth and upbeat and way-out feminine sway.
“The female perspective can obviously add a whole other layer of intrigue and excitement that a male often can’t pull off with conviction,” said Hart, who in addition to synth player on Sirens In The Night, is the frontman for Jail Weddings. “It seemed like a missed opportunity that we couldn’t have a whole album with the girls singing. Even though I’m the lead singer in Jail Weddings, the female vocals have always my favorite part about it.”
Jail Weddings’ latest is Wilted Eden and Hart said while putting out that record, he and the crew started their work on the new band.
“We figured we would start this whole other group as a placeholder until Wilted Eden came out,” he said. “Kristina Benson had to go on hiatus from Jail Weddings, so we got Rachael Ann to fill in for her on this project, as well as Rufo Chan (drums) from Miss Jupiter. The membership of Jail Weddings was kind of fragmented in late 2018, so our band members Marianne, Seth (Miller) and I were excited to keep the Jail Weddings spirit going in a different way.”
Check out Jail Weddings Opens Desert Daze 2017 here.
But while the two bands share some players and a home base location in the California desert, they each have a different approach to the music.
“The idea was to make Sirens In The Night different from Jail Weddings and focus just on the ’60s girl-group element but through a synth-riddled, futurist sort-of lens,” Hart said. “So this was my way of making sure that that got across.”
Being busy with the release of Wilted Eden delayed Sirens In The Night, but the timing has worked out well. Homebound by Coronavirus, listeners want music that makes them feel good, and To Hell With Our Youth by Sirens In The Night is just what the doctor ordered.
Check out ‘To Hell With Our Youth’ by Sirens In The Night:
SITN:
Mary Animaux – vocals
Rachael Ann – vocals
Gabriel Hart – KORG MS-20
Seth Miller – guitar
Rufo Chan – drums
Recorded/mixed/mastered in March 2019 by Eric Hurst at Big Arm Studio.
“Memorial Song” originally written/performed by Patti Smith.
“Oh Willow Waly” (traditional) arrangement from the motion picture “The Innocents.”
All other songs written by Gabriel Hart C and P TRU-VOW Tunes (SESAC)
