The Shellycoats

Another Baltimore-based band just released a new able and are ready to share it with the masses. The Shellycoats are proud to share their rocking labor of love, Pleasure Seekers Anonymous, with music fans in the area. Lead by the charming, charismatic vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Ashes, The Shellycoats are rounded-out by Eric Evitts on the drums, Greg Humphreys on lead guitar and Chris Plummer n the bass.
Listening to The Shellycoats is like a trip down memory lane. Sounding a bit like Letters To Cleo or early Velocity Girl, Ashes' work can stand up to the best work of Kay Hanley or Sarah Shannon. And the cool cover artwork looked like it came straight out of the Dinosaur Jr. catalog. The easy grunge pop melodies of The Shellycoats makes me long for the long-lost days of alternative music. - Music Monthly 12/03

Baltimore's Shellycoats work an electric/acoustic folk/pop corner that hints in the direction of 10,000 Maniacs, with jangly guitars, earnest lyrics of love and loss and the presence of charmingly quirky front woman Ashes. Although the band (guitarist Greg Humphreys, bassist Chris Plummer, drummer Eric Evitts) keeps things in the gentle pop range for most of their debut, Pleasure Seekers Anonymous, they're not afraid to skirt the edge of emo with the rockier intensity of "Sleep Alone" and "Amazing Feats." For the remainder of the album, the Shellycoats prefer an indie folk atmosphere that shimmers with a noisy grace and an insistent pop rhythm (the breezy opener "No Wrong Answers," the jangling moodiness of "Between The Lines" and "Persephone"). All the Shellycoats' accomplishments are underscored by a compelling back story; guitarist/vocalist/lyricist Ashes lost her sight four years ago to a degenerative eye disease that apparently only stregnthed her resolve to continue her musical pursuits. For fans of R.E.M. and the Maniacs' early moments of textural introspection, there's much about The Shellycoats to enjoy.

--Brian Baker - Amplifier Magazine. March/April '04

How`s this strike you? Bettie Serveert , Velocity Girl, early 10,000 Maniacs, Julianna Hatfield, The Blake Babies. If you smiled and are looking for those days in the early/mid 90`s when you were buying up a storm of cool indie jangle pop with female lead vocals, folk-strummed jangly guitars and winsome melodies glading skyward, The Shellycoats are going to bring more smiles. Great mixture of slow, mid and uptempo songs, great guitar work and intelligent lyrics. There`s only a lot of good to swallow here, most happily. We don`t h ear records like this too much anymore, which is big shame. Hearing this, gives happy hope to the fact that the great sub-genres of years past can live on and be enjoyed in the present just as much as they were in the past. Wonderful and compelling! Very Highly Recommended. - Not Lame Recording Company- 4/04

Mix some strong female vocals with some decidedly REM-influenced pop-rock melodies, and you've got one heck of a nice album! There's plenty of jangly guitars throughout the tunes, and fans of Sun 60, Mary Lou Lord, REM, the Feelies/Wake Ooloo and Grey Eye Glances will all find something appealing in the Shellycoats' contemporary brand of folk-rock music - Eric Sorensen, www.fufkin.com