Washington, D.C.-based indie pop singer Sarah Shannon was the lead singer and focal point for Velocity Girl, whose three early-'90s albums, Copacetic, Simpatico, and Gilded Stars and Zealous Hearts, reworked the British shoegazer aesthetic into a distinctly original form. When that band split in 1996, Shannon formed the short-lived Starry Eyes, who broke up after releasing a single EP in 1997. Shannon then embarked on a low-key solo career, releasing the EP Estheraho on her own Marzipan label in 1999 before signing with the brand-new label The Casa Recording Company, owned by the Posies' Ken Stringfellow, and releasing her self-titled full-length debut in early 2002. After a five-year break to focus on marriage and motherhood, and a move to Seattle, Shannon signed with Minty Fresh in spring 2006. Her long-awaited sophomore effort, City Morning Song, produced by Martin Feveyear (Mark Lanegan, Crooked Fingers, Rosie Thomas), was released in February 2007. ~ Stewart Mason