Girls in Trouble Celebrate Release of Bible-Themed Album

It may have been a benefit for upstart publishing company Julius Singer Press, but Wednesday night's show at Public Assembly in Brooklyn, N.Y. centered on just one book: the Bible, which is the basis for every song by headliner Girls in Trouble.

Founded by singer, violinist, songwriter and Torah scholar Alicia Jo Rabins, Girls in Trouble is a high-concept group whose songs chronicle the hardships faced by obscure female Bible characters. The Public Assembly gig marked the release of the Brooklyn band's self-titled debut, a collection that, despite society's still-unresolved gender-equality issues, reminds modern women that things have gotten a bit better.

"This song is about the original kind of sacrifice -- human sacrifice," Rabins said early in the set, introducing 'Mountain/When My Father Came Back.' Based on a story in the book of Judges, the song tells the troubling tale of Yiftach, a man who must kill his daughter to fulfill a promise to God.

Rabins sang from a more empowered point of view on 'Who Sent the Heat,' in which her scheming protagonist seduces and murders the General of an opposing army. "Now you'll know what to do if you're ever in this situation," Rabins told the audience, just before playing a haunting violin break. "Get him drunk, play him a song and then cut
his head off."

As it happens, Girls in Trouble might have a hard time using their music to lull anyone into the kind of stupor needed to pull off a beheading. Quiet but often energetic, the quintet plays a sort of old-timey punk rock, complete with circus organ and upright bass, the latter plucked with love by Rabin's husband, Aaron Hartman.

In keeping with the night's book theme, opener Franz Nicolay, best known as the mustachioed pianist for the Hold Steady, also professed his love for the written word, performing a song about the classic Alan Moore graphic novel 'The Watchmen.'

"I'll buy you a drink if this isn't the best mariachi-disco tribute to a retired superhero you hear all year," Nicolay said, introducing a number he penned for the Bushwick Book Club, a Brooklyn group that encourages members to write songs inspired by its monthly reading selections.

Not surprisingly, no one had a drink on Nicolay.