Sarah Shannon
s/t
(Casa Recording Co.)

Sarah Shannon's lot in life seemed doomed to be much like that of Margaret Dumont. Dumont, an opera singer by training, ended up cast as the target of the Marx Brother's barbs in a stage production of "The Coconauts." She followed them through additional stage work and seven motion pictures, always resigned to playing it straight in the face of sheer lunacy. Her repeated success in adding sanity to counter the silliness of Groucho, Harpo, Chico and (sometimes) Zeppo led many to call her "the Fifth Marx Brother." High praise indeed. Fittingly, her last professional work was in support of Groucho on TV's Variety Palace. While she was an accomplished actress with a diverse list of credits, it was for her work with the Marx Brothers that she is remembered.

How is this relevant to young Ms. Shannon? Well, she too was part of an unruly quintet (Washington DC's Velocity Girl) and was frequently overshadowed by that group's trademark shtick (fuzzy dream-pop); her vocals were often buried deep in the mix. Furthermore, even in the age of the music video, the band was never visually oriented. Quite simply, Sarah was as far removed from the center of attention as a cute chick singer in a band full of nerds could possibly be. When the band imploded in 1996, all of the members promptly dropped out of sight. If the title of fifth Marx Brother had been taken, Sarah could at least take solace that she would be forever known as the "girl" in Velocity Girl. (A dubious distinction, given that it was original vocalist Bridget Cross who blazed that trail.)

Flash forward a half decade. Out of nowhere this disc appears. Those thinking that Sarah would carry the hazy torch of dream-pop will be disappointed. Her solo debut full length is every bit a part of the wave of Bacharach worship sweeping the pop underground. In retrospect, I suppose this isn't too surprising. Following their earliest stabs at post-My Bloody Valentine walls of sound, Velocity Girl beat a retreat away from the noise-as-music philosophy. Subsequent records placed them closer and closer to the pop mainstream. 1996's Gilded Stars and Zealous Hearts had a squeaky clean sound that robbed the band of their personality. On their final tour, the band seemed to give their fuzzy roots a wide berth, playing only their newest and most conventional sounds. Quite a disappointment from a band that once boasted a quirky personality of its own.

Perhaps this is exactly the album that Velocity Girl would have made this year, had they stuck together. Nary a trace of that old dream-pop sound can be heard. Sophisticated pop, with a 60's influence, is the order of the day. The record radiates vibrancy and warmth. A good variety of tempos and textures are present. Pianos and horns dominate the arrangements, which sometime veer into Broadway musical territory ("When You Live Life Alone.") "What's Mine" is a driving attention grabber which drifts close to garage R&B. The Wurlitzer powered "Heaven Got Wider" recalls Motown soul. The singer handles it all with aplomb. Even the chugging indie sounds of "Are You Far Enough" can't totally hide the smoothness and sureness in Shannon's voice. A surprisingly complete package and one of the nicest comebacks in recent memory. All it lacks is a cover of "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" to bring this pastiche of homage and inspiration full circle.

It would seem that, ironically, now that she is out of the spotlight brought about by her former band's prominence, Sarah has finally begun to come into her own as an artist. While Velocity Girl is best remembered as a sterling singles band, ( see "Crazy Town," "Nothing," and the fantastic "Forgotten Favorite") their albums were often padded with filler. Sarah's new record may not boast a track to rival those for sheer catchiness, but the album as a whole plays much better than previous LPs.

None of her former bandmates appear here. The presence of the Posies' Joe Skyward on bass is the only nod to power-pop to be found. Blake Wescott, who has worked with Pedro the Lion, is Sarah's main songwriting collaborator and producer. (Perhaps surprisingly, this effort sounds very little like Pedro.) Jazz and lounge pop stalwarts Frank Lenz and Matt Fronke are also in tow.

Margaret Dumont made lots of movies without the Marx Brothers. Her problem was that even if people noticed, they weren't likely to care enough to change their opinion about her. Will Sarah Shannon escape the same fate and be known as someone other than "the singer from Velocity Girl?" Her newfound ambitions and the obvious ability to fulfill them would indicate that she may indeed come to be recognized as an independent voice.

-Chris