The Carrots

The Austin, Texas-based ensemble the Carrots evokes a range of kindred indie pop outfits—most notably the God Damn Doo Wop Band and Vancouver, Canada-based project Gigi—through coordinated attire, girl group sensibilities, and a puckish attitude. Formation occurred in 2005 after founding member Veronica Ortuño placed a MySpace advertisement seeking recruits for a bubblegum pop-oriented group. By year’s end the roster comprised Ortuño’s ex-bandmate Erin Budd, bassist Chris Lyons (previously active under the Gene Defcon moniker), Lyons’ prior collaborator Jason “Chef” Pittman, Jennifer Moore (whose earlier work included projects with Voxtrot), and Stephanie Chan, another shared alumna of Ortuño and Budd’s previous band. Early local traction in Austin stemmed from girl group cover performances, which secured a slot at SXSW the next spring. Several original demos, among them “Jimmy Don't Cry” and “Secret Since '99,” appeared on the band’s MySpace page before 2006 concluded; these tracks drew the attention of Madrid, Spain-based label Elefant, which issued the debut single Doing Our Part in spring 2008. A second single, Beverly, arrived that summer. Following an extended period of inactivity, the group resumed live appearances in 2011 and commenced work on a full-length album. During this process the lineup shifted, with Moore, Budd, and Chan departing while guitarist Jason Pearson, vocalist/pianist Shelley McKann, and vocalist Rose Russo joined. Elefant released the resulting debut album, New Romance, in spring 2013.