As the Divine Horsemen were the rock ‘n’ roll throwback sequel to Chris Desjardin’s Flesh Eaters, Jail Weddings are the rock ‘n’ roll/soul throwback sequel to Gabe Hart’s Starvations. Both the Divine Horsemen and Jail Weddings share interest in ’60s rock and early ’80s punk. But whereas the Divine Horsemen have remained on SST collector shelves, Jail Weddings continue to grow—and will do so until every punk on Fourth Street has a Jail Weddings stick-and-poke tattoo on his or her ankle.

On the new EP Inconvenient Dreams (dig the covergirl tempting/threatening us with a bottle of Wild Turkey), the band’s passion for Phil Spector is obvious with one listen—but there’s more to find after the unavoidable second listen. After Eric Fisher rattles out a couple chords on opener “Cheat on Your New Lover with Me,” singer Gabe Hart wastes no time in launching into his tirade. Hart’s lyrics possess a sort of sweetness you’d hope to find in such beautiful music, only the message is delivered with a punk-rock chorus showing admirable contempt for other people’s emotions. The next song, “These Fleeting Moments,” begins with two clichéd sentences in a row—but what’s rock ‘n’ roll without a cliché? (The song’s epic finale makes the listen worth those first lines, anyway.) From there, it’s right back to the tongue-in-cheek sleaze with “I’m My Own Doctor” and its pun “I’m my own doctor / I’ve lost my own patients.” Track four—“(Do You Think We’re Gonna End Up On) Skid Row?”—better describes raging in LA than any song yet recorded (and reminds me of watching people patch holes in the Booby Trap’s halls while getting a tattoo in my cousin’s bedroom). And lastly, there’s “I Am Fucking Crazy,” a soulful, beautiful and dangerous duet from Jada Wagensomer and Katya Hubiak.

If you have the good fortune to see this band live, you’re left hoping they’ll play at your wedding—or your funeral. Look out, soul is back.

-Bill Cutts