Velocity Girl

135,554 plays (13,222 listeners)

indie rock, indie pop, indie, alternative, shoegaze… see all

Velocity Girl was an American indie rock band formed in 1989 in College Park, Maryland, although it was generally known as a Washington, DC-area band. While much 1990s rock music featured an abrasive vocal and instrumental style, Velocity Girl’s later sound was melodic and typically featured “clean” (non-distorted) electric guitar sounds. Thus, the group’s music was closer to a “pop” than a “rock” aesthetic. Initially however, Velocity Girl was playing with their shoegaze influences and on their first seven inches on Slumberland and Merge, as well as their first Sub Pop album “Copacetic”.

The group was fronted by a female singer (Sarah Shannon) (original lead singer Bridget Cross left to join Unrest) and featured both female and male vocals, sometimes simultaneously. In the group’s recordings, Shannon’s voice had a light, airy quality with a slight vibrato.

The band took its name from a Primal Scream B-side.

Velocity Girl released three recordings on the Sub Pop label, Copacetic (1993), Simpatico (1994), and Gilded Stars and Zealous Hearts (1996). Velocity Girl disbanded in October 1996 (although a reunion show was played in 2002 to benefit original singer Cross). Sarah Shannon, Kelly Riles and Jim Spellman reunited in a short-lived project called Starry Eyes which released a single EP Starry Eyes (1997, Radiopaque).

Guitarist Archie Moore went on to form The Heartworms and The Saturday People.

Sarah Shannon currently (2002-2007) records as a solo artist.

1	Sorry Again	41
2	Crazy Town	32
3	My Forgotten Favorite	29
4	Pop Loser	28
5	Audrey's Eyes	25
6	There's Only One Thing Left to Say	24
6	Forgotten Favorite	24
6	Rubble	24
6	Pretty Sister	24
10	Copacetic	23
11	Drug Girls	20
11	Lisa Librarian	20
11	I Can't Stop Smiling	20
14	Here Comes	19
14	Living Well	19

Top Albums

Copacetic
Velocity Girl
Buy
- Amazon
- eBay
Download
Simpatico
Velocity Girl
Buy
- Amazon
- eBay
Download
Gilded Stars and Zealous Hearts
Velocity Girl
Buy
- Amazon
- eBay
Download
¡Simpatico!
Velocity Girl
Buy
- Amazon
- eBay
Download

Shoutbox

Leave a comment. Log in to Last.fm or sign up (it’s free).

cmw72 wrote:
Wednesday evening

I miss these guys.

View Profile | Leave cmw72 a shout
musesic wrote:
last month

great band, Copacetic has enough quality to last me through the entire album without feeling bored.

View Profile | Leave musesic a shout
beckybartkowski wrote:
last month

Velocity Girl fans, check out The Airborne Toxic Event: http://www.shoutfactory.com/widget/tate/index.html

View Profile | Leave beckybartkowski a shout
oohdoiloveyou wrote:
last month

woot

View Profile | Leave oohdoiloveyou a shout
squishbot wrote:
July 2008

Love me some Velocity Girl, not one bad song in their catalog

View Profile | Leave squishbot a shout
thesky_7 wrote:
July 2008

wurz da luv in dis showtbox guyz

View Profile | Leave thesky_7 a shout
iwearshirts wrote:
February 2008

go go 100,000 plays!

View Profile | Leave iwearshirts a shout
[deleted-user] wrote:
January 2008

Post-Black Tambourine band, right?
paulmer2003 wrote:
November 2007

I <333333333 Velocity Girl

View Profile | Leave paulmer2003 a shout
aughtstar wrote:
November 2007

Their career peaked way before Last.fm, like a lotta bands...very underrated tho, I don't think they have one bad song.

View Profile | Leave aughtstar a shout
Morpheus42 wrote:
October 2007

Wow, I expected this band to have a much higher listenership.

View Profile | Leave Morpheus42 a shout
Enigma6285 wrote:
May 2007

check the black cat(dc) schedule, sarah is playing a solo show.

View Profile | Leave Enigma6285 a shout
JeremyAce4 wrote:
May 2007

Solid.

View Profile | Leave JeremyAce4 a shout
Ramez05 wrote:
March 2007

so fuckin awesome

View Profile | Leave Ramez05 a shout
M1ntyFresh wrote:
February 2007

Sarah Shannon's new album City Morning Song now available @ www.mintyfresh.com in the Bazaar section!

View Profile | Leave M1ntyFresh a shout
catfight1980 wrote:
February 2007

Woohoo for Velocity Girl, anyone hear Sarahs new stuff?

View Profile | Leave catfight1980 a shout
Andrenext wrote:
January 2007

excellent bubblegrunge/powerpop band...

View Profile | Leave Andrenext a shout

Listeners

witnessclouding
Listening now
to Lisa Librarian
Gugek
Listening now
to Pop Loser
sillysallywidow
Top Listener
ataube59
Top Listener
hateyousobad
Top Listener
mdt
Top Listener

Recent Activity

vargas_girl, KElectro, tebbytater and 2 other people added Velocity Girl to their libraries. 34 minutes ago
brianh44 added Velocity Girl to the lineup of Velocity Girl at Lynagh's. last month
garybthenotions, wmpaterson, tonevendor and 3 other people added Velocity Girl to their libraries. last month
musesic tagged Velocity Girl with ‘american 1990s’. last month
andrebras, daselley, oyeterence and 5 other people added Velocity Girl to their libraries. last month
tiit19 tagged Velocity Girl with ‘indie’. last month
ultra-k, spaceladyeva and zc19 added Velocity Girl to their libraries. last month
musesic tagged Velocity Girl with ‘noise’. last month
lunaspace9 added Velocity Girl to lunaspace9’s library. last month
thereceivingend tagged Velocity Girl with ‘washington dc’ and ‘indie’. last month