The Shells

The Shells, a trio consisting of young female performers that are a completely original pop/folk-rock harmony group. Their original sound has appropriately been dubbed as “cosmo country”: a blending of city pop with country folk-rock and intricate harmonies. All three women stumbled upon an audition for a three-part harmony group back in 2005 while pursuing their individual careers in the arts. Four years in the making, The Shells have grown from simple a cappella harmonies to performing with a full band at renowned New York City venues such as The Knitting Factory, The Bitter End, Pianos, and the Canal Room. They have released their debut album Written Roads on October 8, 2009.
Written Roads was produced by Ryan Williams, who has also worked with major industry artists such as Linkin Park. In addition, Williams played almost all the instruments on the album. All songs on Written Roads were penned by the different members, showing the ladies’ breadth of musical talent.
With the impending release of Written Roads, The Shells are set to share their cosmo-country sound with the rest of the world! - Radio Indy

Album: Written Roads (coming out October 8!)

Myspace: myspace.com/bombshelltrio

The vibe: Indie folk-rock mixed with a little R&B. Very Dixie Chicks meets Indigo Girls.

Why you should listen: These three gorgeous girls wrote most of the songs on their new album themselves! Their original sound was dubbed "cosmo country" — a blend of city pop with folk. Love it!

Our fave songs: Give a Little Take a Little, Wrong from the Start

Read more: http://www.seventeen.com/fun-stuff/17-buzz/band-spotlight-the-shells#ixzz0X7SzScKn
- Seventeen Magazine

The SoHo Journal had the pleasure to attend The Shells album release party, and we were blown away. The fierce female trio who define themselves as "cosmo country" won an MTV nomination for the Best Breakout Artists in New York City— a nod that is well deserved.

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The Shells, a New York based female singing trio, and their back-up band performed to a packed house at the Canal Room last night for the independent release of their debut album "Written Roads". The trio is comprised of three young women from different parts of the US: Carrie Welling from Boulder, Jessica Waltz from Nashville, and Melanie Klaja from Buffalo, who have been hitting the New York City music circuit together for the past four years. While female singing trios have been quite common over the decades, from the Andrew Sisters to Destiny's Child, there is something quite refreshing about this group that is hard to pin down. It could be the fact that their songs are quite hooky and touch on various genres--with country being the most prominent, along with pop, funk and soul. It could also be that their voices blend so closely together, it's often hard to distinguish one voice from the others. Plus the arrangements are well orchestrated and their band members are all solid musicians: Justin Hines on drums, Scott Stein on keys, Allison Zlotto on Violin, Cameron Mitchell on electric and acoustic guitar, Gary Heimbauer on electric guitar and Darryl Brooks on bass guitar.

The trio showcased 10 of the 12 songs from "Written Roads", starting off with the catchy "Would You Say" and moving to the more country-esque tunes "Stain" and "Wrong From the Start". Then came "Give A Little", a funky tune with a bit of a punch, followed by the more poppy ballad "Secret". Their songs often begin with one voice leading that is joined by the other two in a rising, cathartic chorus. The lyrics as well as the ladies' performances are honest and authentic; you can feel the experience behind their words. Klaja introduced the song "I Will Believe You" as "a song about truth" and broke into tears while singing lead vocals during the song. "These songs are our diaries," Klaja explained. The show ended with an encore of their southern rock song "Sunday" (the bonus track on their album), which ends fittingly with a Gospel-feeling chorus.” - Soho Journal

So, I went to see The Shells last Thursday night (8/13) at Parkside Lounge in the LES, at a showcasing of bands, put on by S.E.G PRESENTS, a booking/management/PR agency that covers bands all across the U.S. of A.

But back to The Shells. Melanie, Jessica and Carrie are very impressive. They are a 3-piece Folk/Acoustic/Pop group, with booming voices that shiver the room when belting out one of their many �love sucks when it ends, but awesome in the moment� tunes.� Their interpersonal dynamics on stage, and off, will be the spine behind their success, constantly joking and naturally flowing off each other�s idiosyncrasies. And the best part of all, is how they make their sound a true team effort, since there is a balanced amount of songs written and performed by each member.

Not only are they individually talented and beautiful, but collectively work to harmonize their three very different styles in singing, which makes them a great live group. They capture the audience�s attention since one song will have a country feel, another a little poppy, with the next feeling like a jazz serenade. Their sound becomes fuller with a background bass, violin, keys and guitar, on top of the instruments the girls play.

Nowadays, the only way to judge a band is how they perform live, and The Shells are one of the best bands to see. I mean, if they weren�t, would they get a nomination for an MTV VMA Best Breakout Artist New York City?

Check their website for their musings, CD�s, writings, tour dates and what-have-you�s at theshellsonline . - Lost in Sound

You don’t have to watch the entire season of America’s Got Talent to realize that such a statement is true. America is full of musically talented hopefuls looking for their chance to do what they love and be recognized for it.

New York City is the playground for these people.

New artists seem to crawl out of every sidewalk crack every night of the week and drag their instruments across town to wherever they can get a venue to book them for the night. Anything to feel the heat of the stage lights warming their faces.

It’s not an easy profession to pursue. Many artists are faced with minimal success and have to set their dreams aside. It does not seem like The Shells will be forced to do the same.

In order to stay afloat in this sink or swim town, The Shells have come up with a unique sound which they have dubbed “cosmo country.” A smooth blend of sweet melody, catchy rhythm and their group’s angelic harmonies creates a band that is truly refreshing during a time when top 40 radio dominates.

The staple members of the group are Carrie Welling (vocals), Melanie Klaja (vocals/rhythm guitar), and Jessica Rae Waltz (vocals) who perform with a full band consisting of Scott Stein on keys, Josh Becker on Drums, Yoshie Fruchter and Darryl Brooks on Bass, Christine Brown on Violin, and Cameron Mitchell on Lead and Rhythm Guitar.

The group recently had an opportunity to showcase their talent at a small show put together by Show Entertainment Group, a small booking and management company. The event took place on August 13th at The Parkside Lounge and featured other artists such as The Brothers Moving, Lilly Claire, Johnnie Lee Jordan, and Chris from Goodbye Picasso.

The Shells in particular wowed the audience who applauded enthusiastically at the end of each song. A particular favorite was the band’s cover of Linkin Park’s Shadow of the Day in honor of the passing of Les Paul.

The dazzled audience is no surprise as MTV has noticed their talent as well. The group was nominated for the Video Music Awards Best Breakout New York City Artist Award and made it to the Top 3. This was no small feat for the band, who had to be picked by MTV viewers as one of the Top 20 and then selected from that group by MTV as one of the Top 3.

Their debut album, Written Roads, drops on October 8th and the band will be celebrating with a CD Release Party at The Canal Room in New York. The event will start at 8:00pm and it’s 21+ to attend.

For more information about this up and coming band visit their official website or MySpace page.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 25th, 2009 at 12:35 AM and is filed under Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
- Life Ink Blog