Speed of Life: Sarah Shannon

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PEOPLE CHANGE over the course of a decade. Since musicians not named Jimmy Page are not gods, and thus not exceptions to this rule, their songwriting and music styles also change.

Former Velocity Girl frontwoman Sarah Shannon is no exception.

Since the D.C. indie-pop group disbanded in 1996, the Seattle-based Shannon has played in a couple of short-lived bands and released two solo albums: 2002's self-titled disc and the new "City Morning Song" (Minty Fresh). The CD, Shannon said, "was written at a very happy point in my life. I met my husband, got married, had a little girl, bought a house — it's not very glamorous or very rock 'n' roll," she laughed.

But these life changes — a departure from the free-wheeling days of Velocity Girl, and even from her previous album written five years earlier — are evident on "City Morning Song." It's a collection of "tried-and-true, man-and-woman love songs," Shannon said. "People seem surprised by the U-turn I took in music, but it's just a different kind of pop music ... I had never written a song on my own [in Velocity Girl], and I had no idea what was going to come out. It turns out I have a little Burt Bacharach on one shoulder and Carole King on the other, whispering in my ear."

One exception to the love-song collection is "On and On," which Shannon said was inspired partly by Sept. 11. On the surface, it's a "jaunty walk through the city in the morning ... but I wrote it about walking through Manhattan after September 11. There's this feeling of a city reawakened, and I left carried along by the energy of this city that had been through so much."

"City Morning Song" marks a step in independence for Shannon, as this is the first CD for which she wrote or co-wrote all the songs. "On my first album, I co-wrote some, but [producer] Blake [Wescott] wrote two songs outright ... I like to think my songwriting is getting better, though I'm really not the one to say."

The record was also five years in the making. Shannon says she wants to tighten up that lag time in the future. "It took so long because I'm not a prolific songwriter, but I want to work at getting better and more disciplined with my writing — maybe I can put out a release every two years."

For Velocity Girl fans, it's hard not to compare Shannon's current work with her previous band, but the singer herself is a different place. "I've always loved being in Velocity Girl and touring and creating noisy pop music, but the music I'm making now is a little more true to myself."

» Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW; with The Andalusians, Tue., 9 p.m., $10; 202-397-7328. (U St.-Cardozo)

Written by Express contributor Katherine Silkaitis

Photo by Pat Snavely