By David Perri

Sometimes bands are inextricably linked to their home base, taking on the characteristics and flair of their native surroundings. STOLEN BABIES, undeniably, is one such collective. Harkening from that one-of-a-kind place known as Los Angeles, this group embodies the city’s unique visual and aural aesthetic – to say that Stolen Babies is doing something all its own is a supreme understatement. Having just released one hell of a barn-burner in new record There Be Squabbles Ahead (a high-energy amalgam of Motorhead, ‘90s industrial, ‘80s synth-pop, goth, and Eastern European travel tunes), Stolen Babies is on its way to becoming the new favourite band in a lot of different scenes and circles.

“Dominque (Persi, vocals/accordian) and I write based on what we’re listening to," says energetic bass player, guitarist and programmer Rani Sharone. “There’s a dichotomy to what each of us brings to the table. I’m a film music geek: I love film scores. I’m also a child of the ‘80s, so I listen to a lot of Oingo Boingo and Depeche Mode. Those influences come into play when we write, but we’re not trying to emulate them. We’re good at assimilating, not emulating. In our old band before Stolen Babies, we just did cartoon music. But then I found I could say what I wanted to with regular song structures. I found that it was actually kind of fun to be limited by certain forms that work.”

And work they do. When the Motorhead bass strains of ‘Tall Tales’ or the over-the-top energy of ‘Spill’ and ‘Mind Your Eyes’ take hold, there’s no denying the only thing you want to do is turn the record up good and loud.

“Tone is everything for me,” Sharone says. “For so many songs I’ll just love whatever bass tone I’m playing around with and run with it. Whatever stress you’re feeling during your day, we just take it out through our music. Some people become serial killers, others become musicians (laughs)! There’s a definite link between how I feel about the world and our music. We write songs that make me feel a certain way, even if that’s me just feeling the way I do about traffic.”
“We like to create worlds with this band,” Sharone says, referring to Stolen Babies’ out-there visual aesthetic. “The visuals, to us, are as important as the music. Hallowe’en is every day for us and we love it. Just because we’re doing different things visually doesn’t mean we’re phoney. We’re more comfortable in make-up and dressed up than we are in regular clothes. When we’re on stage in make-up and in costume, it accentuates who you are inside.”