Kelley Ryan

Kelley Ryan spent a decade as the driving force behind the rootsy Los Angeles-based power pop collective astroPuppees, who issued four albums over the years of 1996-2005 — two on the Hightone label and two on Ryan's own Manatee imprint. Her work attracted notice from the likes of singer/songwriter Marti Jones and Jones' husband, producer Don Dixon, as well as new wave icon Marshall Crenshaw, all of whom guested at one time or another on astroPuppees tracks. In turn, Ryan co-wrote two songs on Jones' 2002 album My Tidy Doily Dream, and did the same for Crenshaw's 2009 album Jaggedland, the latter while working on what she thought would be the next astroPuppees record with producer Dixon. Once it became clear that Ryan was going to write all the lyrics for the first time on any of her records, the decision was made to release the album as a solo project under Ryan's own name. The result, Twist, appeared in early 2010 and boasted guest appearances by Dixon and Jones, a pair of string arrangements by legendary pop eccentric Van Dyke Parks, and a cover of Beck's "Lost Cause."