Shannon McArdle

The Mendoza Line made the move to New York City from Athens, GA in 1999, establishing themselves as a rollicking, well-read rock band with a love for The Replacements, Bob Dylan, and the Velvet Underground. Along with a cast of contributors, the Mendoza Line recorded a remarkable body of work that wrestled with the intoxication of life and love on the edge of the new millennium. When Shannon McArdle left the Mendoza Line in 2007, she was also leaving behind a marriage to a fellow band member.

Shannon McArdle headed out on her own in 2008 with an unflinching report from the frontlines of divorce called Summer of the Whore (Bar-None). Music critic, Greil Marcus posted on Salon.com, “Debbie Harry had her finger on this trigger in Blondie's "Rip Her to Shreds," but Shannon McArdle makes you think she didn't pull it.”

Fear the Dream of Axes introduces us to a self-possessed Shannon McArdle who has fertility, Crown Heights, mythology, and murder mysteries on her mind. If the connection is lost on you, McArdle will make sense out of it for you in this unabashedly experimental marriage of pop, rock, folk, and more. The album is heavily influenced by masterful productions such as Marianne Faithfull's Broken English and Harry Nilsson's Pussy Cats. Former Mendoza Line member, Adam D. Gold takes the reins once again as engineer and producer.

Summer of the Whore

Shannon McArdle released her debut solo album, Summer of the Whore, through Bar-None Records on August 5, 2008. This is the first recording by McArdle since the Mendoza Line disbanded in 2007.

Collaborating on arrangements with former Mendoza Line alum Adam D Gold, her album is a sparse, haunted affair that delivers a wide variety of moods and textures. “Poison My Cup” is a featured song from Summer of the Whore.

When Shannon McArdle left the Mendoza Line in 2007, she was also leaving behind a marriage to fellow member, Timothy Bracy. Along with a cast of contributors, the Mendoza Line recorded a remarkable body of work that wrestled with the intoxication of life and love on the edge of the new millennium. McArdle met Bracy in the late 1990s in Athens, Georgia and struck up a musical collaboration as well as romantic relationship.

Along with an early incarnation of the Mendoza Line, the band made the move to New York City, establishing themselves as a rollicking, well-read rock band with a love for The Replacements, Bob Dylan, and the Velvet Underground. After four albums with the group and another project with Bracy called Slow Dazzle, Shannon McArdle is heading out on her own with an unflinching report from the frontlines of divorce. Summer of the Whore is a unique, fearless view of her life from the summer of 2007, finally ready for delivery in the summer of 2008. Shannon explains, "It's very strange going back and listening to the record. When I wrote and recorded the songs last summer, my emotions were completely exposed. I had no interest in veiling them in any way. Subtlety was not something that appealed to me at the time. I'm glad for that." Shannon McArdle's latest is not the feel-good album of the year, but it is an honest, singular work, rich in melody and the occasional bitter smile. Sometimes a season seems to last a very long time, but soon the air and the trees change and maybe we change as well without effort. Fortunately for her listeners, McArdle captured the Summer of the Whore before it passed her by.

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