The name was an explicit signpost. Maryland’s Velocity Girl named themselves after the B-side of Primal Scream’s May 1986 second single “Crystal Crescent.” At this point, Bobby Gillespie and Co were still a Byrds-leaning, Sixties-inclined, polkadotted jangly pop outfit. There were no hints of what came later.
Velocity Girl formed in College Park, Maryland in 1989 but were embedded in the Washington, DC music scene – one which, for much of the outside world, was defined by hardcore punk and the various flavours springing from it represented by bands like Fugazi and Nation of Ulysses. Looking to any British indie archetype was atypical. As the liner notes for new compilation 1989-1992 put it, “Velocity Girl arose from a new pop underground that had been percolating in Washington, DC and its suburbs.” They were, it says, one amongst other “likeminded group[s] [who] ripped up the punk paradigm and started it again for a new decade with their preternaturally melodic songs and DIY spark.”
During the period covered by 1989-1992, Velocity Girl were mostly tied to the Slumberland label, then based in Maryland. Fellow local(ish) bands also with the imprint included Black Tambourine and Lilys. A formative influence on all of this was Washington State’s K Records. Velocity Girl were not operating in isolation.
1989-1992 collects tracks from singles and contemporaneous compilations, teaming them with recordings which have never been out before. Its cover reconfigures that of a 1993 CD released by Slumberland (pictured below left). There was churn in this period: original singer vocalist Bridget Cross left and was replaced by Sarah Shannon. Around this time, second guitarist Brian Nelson came on board, taking the band to a five-piece. The constants were co-founders Archie Moore and Kelly Young.
A listen to this comp of their pre-Sub Pop years confirms where the early Velocity Girl were coming from. It opens with “Clock,” a murky rumble which is more like early Section 25 than anything from the then-current or recent UK or US indie scenes. This is atypical. Otherwise and perhaps unsurprisingly, considering the core musical vision, the sound across the new collection is pretty cohesive.
Apart from “Clock,” much of what's here is as per what would be expected. “I Don't Care if you go” is akin to a downer-dosed “Gentle Tuesday” Primal Scream. In 1990. it was the topside of VG’s first 45. After this, their debut single’s B-side “Always,” an assured slab of sound which sits on a line between 4AD’s take on guitar pop and the early Ride. The terrific “What You Say,” which was on a 1991 single, has some bendy My Bloody Valentine guitar. The following track, the 1992 Beat Happening cover “Tales of Brave Aphrodite” has hints of MBV’s bash-and-clatter drum style. All bang on for the period.
The annotation lays some of it on the line. “Clock” is described as having “vocals redolent of ‘Wilderness’ by Joy Division.” “I Don't Care if you go "is a “total ripoff of ‘Tugboat’ by Galaxie 500 and ‘It Happens all the Time’ by Revolving Paint Dream [who featured Alan McGee, one of the bosses of Primal Scream’s label Creation Records].” Nodding to the UK is overt on a fantastic, high-pace, previously unheard version of The Jam’s “That's Entertainment.”
The confident “Forgotten Favorite” (aka “My Forgotten Favorite “– originally a 1992 A-side and later used in the film Clueless) confirms that Velocity Girl had more than enough about them to make a lunge for a wider audience than specifically indie types. That year, they were picked up by Sub Pop.
Existing fans wills want 1989-1992 as it neatly mops up the early days of a beloved US band. The less committed should still want it as it’s great. And, furthermore, it’s a handy reminder that there was more to US indie-type music in 1992 and the immediately preceding years than grunge.
- Next week: Tarkovsky - box set of the soundtracks for all five films made in the Soviet Union by director Andrei Tarkovsky
- More reissue reviews on theartsdesk
- Kieron Tyler’s website
