Mary Lou Lord

Mary Lou Lord got her start playing music in the subways and on the sidewalks of London and Boston. It was first in London where she developed her repertoire; on her return to Boston, she polished her sound and songs. (In Boston, she helped start the band that eventually developed into Helium.) Discovered in the subway by a rep from the Indie label Kill Rock Stars, Lord's two EPs on that label were critical and cult successes. Her voice -- which ranges from a scratchy whisper to a singsong soprano -- and her awkward guitar-strumming had developed into a signature sound. Lord later signed to Sony, on which she released her full-length Got No Shadow LP, which she co-wrote with Nick Salomon of Psychedelic rockers the Bevis Frond.