Not Forgotten Favorites: Velocity Girl Are Back With Unreleased Rarities EP (And Just In Time For Bandcamp Friday)!
Putting not only D.C. on the map, but Silver Spring, Maryland (and College Park, Maryland before that), Velocity Girl did the Brits nearly one better in a devotion to a C86 ideal. Crafting songs with chiming (nay, "jangling") guitars, soaring vocals, and insistent rhythms, the five-piece leapt from Slumberland Records to Sub Pop, pushing that grunge-centric imprint to begin signing bands who didn't aspire to be the next Nirvana.
Archie Moore, Brian Nelson, Sarah Shannon, Jim Spellman, and Kelly Young are back. Has it been a decade since they were last performing live? How many more decades since Archie handed off a few copies What Kind of Heaven Do You? A Slumberland Compilation for us to sell in the University of Maryland Record Co-Op? Older, wiser, and ready to rock, the five-piece are practicing for their upcoming gig at Night 2 of the Black Cat 30th Anniversary celebration, on September 9.
As a reward for fans, the band's offered up a #BandcampFriday EP of rarities, with half the proceeds from this going to We Are Family, a very fine, very helpful D.C. nonprofit charity. The band shared a bit of background on these cuts:
"My Forgotten Favorite" ("ABBA" Version)
Kicking us off is an alternate version of the 45-rpm 7" Slumberland single from 1991 that features a different vocal take with different lyrics and a different mix than what ended up on the 7" single. Sarah's performance on the choruses of this version prompted Archie to stand up from his couch and say "WHOA SARAH! TELL 'EM 'BOUT IT!"
"Warm/Crawl" (Alternate Version)
We recorded and mixed this reverb-slathered version in one overnight session. A week or two later, we went back to the studio to add another guitar overdub to "Warm", and made the comparatively dry-sounding mix of the tune you may know. That version of this tune was first released on Sub Pop as the January 1992 Singles Club split 7" w/our friends Tsunami. This version sounds rad! What were we thinking?
"I Don't Care If You Go" (Slumberland Single Version)
This version was released as a 7" single on Slumberland Records and features two distorted electric guitars. The lineup for this track is Archie, Kelly, Bridget [Bridget Cross of Unrest, Air Miami, Maybe It's Reno, etc.], Berny [Grindle], and Jim.
A different mix, with one of the distorted guitars replaced by an acoustic guitar (sorry Berny!), and a third mix (!) with no electric guitars, both appeared on a 7" single for Summershine Records, as well as the Slumberland CD compilation of our first singles.
So, this version might sound familiar to the nerds who bought the original vinyl, but will possibly sound a little weird to people who know the song from the compilation CD.
"Malibu"
Ride the waves inside your mind with this previously-unreleased track that features the only studio-recorded evidence of the group's early noise-rock phase. Talking and yelping would soon be replaced by singing. The lineup for this track is also Archie, Kelly, Bridget, Berny, and Jim. This track features the only lead vocals performed by Berny and Kelly. It's a blast!
There you have it kids. Buy now because this won't be up there forever. Abd buy now because the half of the profits go to a great charity, We Are Family. If you don't make it to the Black Cat (or didn't do the smart thing and buy tickets early), you can hoof it up to NYC to see the band with Slumberland Records faves Jeanines and the excellent Elk City on September 30. Details here.
[Photo: Jim Saah, 2023]