Sarah Shannon

Today marks the release of Sarah Shannon's new album "City Morning Song". I will openly admit that I am not an avid follower of Sarah's, in fact, the majority of the reason she interests me at all is because I adore her old band, Velocity Girl. Velocity Girl is a great mid-90s band based out of Washington D.C. that made awesome high-spirited rock/pop songs. If you find yourself in a used CD store in front of a copy of their album "Simpatico"...do yourself a favor and buy the thing, okay?

There was a large gap in time between the break-up of Velocity Girl and the release of Sarah's self-titled first solo record in 2001. That album, though decent in its own respects, was a bit of a disappointment for anyone looking for new Velocity Girl material. Sarah's voice is bold and bright, but it reminds me more of the voice of a talented high school musical star than it does a rock star. Her voice worked well over the vibrant beats and fun lyrics of Velocity Girl, but I think they have a lot harder time managing themselves over more mellow songs which populate her solo work. I won't pretend to have heard her new record other than the title track, though, so I am only judging her first solo effort.

Despite my lackluster review above, I still want to promote Sarah and I still think she is definitely worth a listen. There are a few gems on her first record, and I am sure City Morning Song will have some as well.

You can preview her new album and download a zipped copy of the title track 'City Morning Song' at her record label website, Minty Fresh.

Otherwise, here are some tracks from her self-titled album:

• Call You On the Telephone
• I'll Run Away