It’s been roughly two years since Vancouver’s JPNSGRLS made some noise; however, just last month the band returned with a new vision, new lineup, and new name as they rebrand themselves as Hotel Mira. Fans never quite know what to expect when an artist retires one project and brings it back as another. In Hotel Mira’s case, the trio (consisting of Charlie Kerr, Colton Lauro, and Mike Noble) has created an elevated sound that can be described as a polished garage rock band. It’s still rough around the edges, but dressed-up in a way that is catchy and will have your head bopping within seconds.
The band’s new sound can be heard on their debut single, “3 AM Lullaby.” The track is the first off Hotel Mira’s self-titled debut EP, produced by Dave Schiffman (Vampire Weekened, HAIM) and expected to drop later this year. After my first listen of “3 AM Lullaby,” I was immediately intrigued. With guitar riffs reminiscent of 90s alternative rock (i.e. “Cannonball” by The Breeders) sprinkled with pop hooks, the track draws out all the animosity we feel towards the things we cannot control.
Today we’re thrilled to share the music video for “3 AM Lullaby,” which can be found in the player below! As individuals, we try to keep up an outward appearance that showcases the best sides of us regardless of the struggles we face behind closed doors. This is an idea that is captured within the music video for “3 AM Lullaby.”
While the video shows us the band performing, behind them is a large cube with projected images of the thoughts that keep the band up at night. “The projections reflect that vulnerability, confusion, isolation and hopeless-ness that come with insomnia,” shares frontman, Charlie Kerr. He explains, “Humans feel a universal pain that could bring us together but we choose to believe it is a burden on each other and so it exacerbates as we compare our insides with others outsides and buy whatever products are currently being advertised to us as the solution.”
These feelings of inner turmoil are extremely personal to Kerr. He shares with us, “Personally, when my insomnia was at its worst it felt like walking into empty room after empty room searching for answers while hours fell off the clock as I tried to solve problems that were much bigger than I was, from my bed, alone in the dark. And in a lot of ways when you consider the amount of horror we ingest in western society on a day-to-day basis it is hard not to feel that way on a constant basis. This is not to say we are terminally hopeless or powerless, just awake to a few more uncomfortable things and we need each other now more than ever.”
As for the takeaway from the video, Kerr adds, “I hope you enjoy it and you exercise compassion, empathy and kindness in your next human interaction.”
While the band has yet to officially announce when their debut EP will drop, fans will just have to stay in the loop with all things Hotel Mira to see what they have up their sleeves next!
