Shaking up a party-friendly mix of garage rock, girl group sounds, power pop, and old-school punk, Baby Shakes are a rockin' combo from New York City. Featuring three women and one man, Baby Shakes aren't afraid of ear-catching hooks and skillful harmonies, but they play with enough energy and attitude to prove their mettle to fans of tougher sounds. The group sounded raw and scrappy on their first album, 2008's The First One, but after a long recording layoff, they were back in action in 2015 with Starry Eyes, where they revealed a tighter and more polished sound that still reflected their tastes and enthusiasm. Hailing from New York City, Baby Shakes was formed in 2005 by Mary Blount on lead vocals and guitar, Judy Lindsay on lead guitar and vocals, and Claudia Gonzalez on bass and vocals. At that time, Lindsay was sharing a house with Ian Magee of the group Some Action, and when he heard her playing guitar, he suggested she should form a band, and introduced her to Gonzalez, who was looking for bandmates and shared her passion for punk, glam, garage rock, and vintage pop. Lindsay and Gonzalez began jamming, and when Claudia met Blount through a mutual friend, she and Lindsay felt she was the right fit for the group. The group's first drummer was Joey Valentine, who played on debut first single, "Shake Shake" b/w "On a Friday," which was issued by Douchemaster Records in 2005. The single was followed by a five-song demo which Baby Shakes distributed on CD-R; for this session, Murat Akturk was behind the drum kit. Shit Sandwich Records put out their next 7", 2006's "Stuck on Blue" b/w "Boys Talk," which introduced yet another drummer, Dave Rahn. 2008 found Baby Shakes spreading their wings and bringing out their first full-length album, fittingly titled The First One; Rahn played on half of the album, while Akturk held down the drums on the remaining tracks. After the album came out, the group toured steadily in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan. The band made enough of an impression in Japan that they landed work there writing and recording music for television advertising, and while they brought out a three-song EP in 2008 (Tell Me Now, pressed on red vinyl in the shape of a heart) and a single in 2009 ("With You Around" b/w "Too Much Time"), for the most part the group laid low, performing only occasionally and staying away from the recording studio for several years. Their recording drought ended in 2015 with the arrival of the LP Starry Eyes, released by the group's own Lil' Chewy label, and with Dave Rahn finally giving them a consistent fourth member on drums. Making up for lost time, Baby Shakes were back in 2017 with the album Turn It Up, which was released on vinyl and CD by Lil' Chewy and on cassette by well-regarded California indie imprint Burger Records. After another two-year break, Baby Shakes unveiled another dose of spirited rock & roll, 2019's Cause a Scene. ~ Mark Deming