“I wrote the lyrics about war and the contemplation of what it would be like without borders,” says Los Angeles-based experimental post-punk artist CROWJANE (real name: Heather Galipo) about her new track “ASHBURN SIGHT,” out today via Kitten Robot. “The war in Gaza started to happen and the ongoing war in the Ukraine… I felt sadness for what humans do to one another,”
With daring discord and open, resonant post-punk vocals reminiscent of those of Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cranberries, and Sinead O’Connor, the spooky and anthemic track expresses relatable and genuine frustration and despair about the current slate of violence worldwide. With the guitar’s tremolo ringing out behind CrowJane’s voice, she sings, “The ash burned sight / Where can you go / The ash burned sight / Ready to go,” reflecting on the ongoing tragedies.
“In the process of making ‘Ashburn Sight’ I was in the studio [at Kitten Robot] with my friend Cary Ayers (Pretty Boy Floyd),” CrowJane explains about the origins of the song. “While we were recording, we experimented with an electric drum set that had ‘world sounds’ on the settings panel. He was laying down a drum track for the song ‘Ides of March’ off of the Bound to Me EP (2023). I liked the way it sounded a lot, so we just had him groove on it for a bit, and we recorded it!”
Combining fiery and textured post-punk, pop rock and jangle pop, “Ashburn Sight” was produced by Paul Roessler (T.S.O.L., Nina Hagen, The Screamers) and written by CrowJane (vox and bass), Daniel Munoz (guitar), and Cary Ayers and Shok (drums). CrowJane remarks, “Paul and I decided to make the song go faster and faster as opposed to doing repetitive speed patterns. From there, we added a more cohesive drum track with Shok, bass, guitars, and then vocals.”
Following the release of “Savage” in May, and “Real Life” (Tones on Tails Cover, Daniel Ash Approved) in June, CrowJane is propelled forward, having received critical acclaim for her 2023 EP Bound to Me and 2020 groundbreaking debut album Mater Dolorosa, exploring the intersection of post-punk, indie rock, goth, electro, industrial and dark orchestral rock.
Coming from a visual art background of surrealism and horror, CrowJane has simultaneously built a career as a professional horror effects makeup artist having worked on Mulan, The Orville, Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood, Civil Twilight, The Clinic, Don Quixote, Toolbox Murders, The Last Of Us: Part II, Star Wars: Fallen Order, among others. This unlikely background helped foster an outsider musical sensibility that is perfectly balanced by a comprehensive knowledge of the byways and back roads of punk and death rock, both historic and in LA’s contemporary underground music scene, of which her bands Egrets on Ergot, Prissy Whip and The Deadbeats have been an integral component for the past decade.
