The queer music scene is filled with folksy-rock acts, from Ani DiFranco to the Indigo Girls, and joining the musical fray are The Damsels, a female-fronted group from Baltimore. The band are new on the block, in a sense; they just released their debut album, Ashes, on May 27th. But they're no kids, having toiled on the Baltimore club scene for years. Baltimore Gay Life has even called them "local heroes."

The essence of The Damsels is in blending, whether it's their hybrid blues-rock-roots style, or the merging of two solo guitarists into one cohesive unit. Formed in 2003, the three-piece band consists of out lesbian singer/guitarists Rachel Hall and Sabrina, and drummer Timmy P, whom Sabrina describes as "a straight guy with a lesbian heart."

The band began as an amalgamation of solo acts; Sabrina "stole" Timmy from another band, and both knew Rachel from the local music scene. When Sabrina developed some neck problems that necessitated a sit-in guitarist, she invited Rachel into the group. The trio began playing full-time as The Damsels a few years ago, and they haven't looked back on their solo careers since.

The lead-up to the current band has been a long one, with over 40 years of musical experience between the two female leads.

Sabrina started singing at birth, and guitar naturally followed as an accompaniment instrument at age eight. Somewhere during that time she also figured out she was gay. "I knew when I had a crush on Jodie Foster when I was four," she says. "I just always knew I liked girls. I knew I shouldn't, but I just did."

Rachel had a similar musical upbringing, but was a bit slower coming to terms with her sexuality. She was singing onstage by age four, and began playing guitar before she reached her teens. By age 13 she was writing songs--including the current Damsels hit "Oblivious"--but it would be years before Rachel realized she was gay. "I've always been very curious and very scared, but I think I finally figured it out my first year of college," she says. "Being a guitar player was definitely an arena in which I could display my masculinity without being ridiculed for it. Also, I was assumed gay as a solo artist long before I came out or knew I was gay, but I liked it."

What has resulted from this personal and musical journey are songs of maturity, and Ashes represents the band's well-traveled lives. The album is filled with songs of experience, whether in love, loss, or just life. "For me, heartache is a number one inspiration. [It] seems like when I'm going through a personal crisis, the music just kinda comes out," says Sabrina. "Not just heartbreak but heartache--arguments, personal growth, that sorta thing. [When I'm not broken-hearted], I don't write."

In fact, the band's music mirrors their personal lives in a lot of respects. Sabrina and Rachel are a couple both on and off stage, and many of the songs on The Damsels album have been written for or about each other.

One of the most powerful tracks, "The Crying Tree," is a song of longing and heartache, with a catchy chorus rising above a melodic lead guitar. Songs like "Ashes" and "Dangerous Curves" have similar themes, but with very different musical executions; the former a haunting ode to unrequited love, the latter a Melissa Etheridge-esque acoustic ballad.

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