![\"The](\"https:\/\/gazetteedit.wpenginepowered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Its-here-and-I-definitely-didnt-cry-this-morning-over-it.Our-sophomore-album-\u2018Shores-of-Scorpi-1-1024x1024.jpg\")
The cover of Volores\u2019 sophomore album \u201cShores of Scorpio\u201d features Shelby (right) and Nathen Maxwell (left). (Courtesy of Volores)<\/p>\n\u201cMountain goth.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s how Volores describes their music.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople say, \u2018What kind of music do you play?\u2019 Simply, we play rock \u2018n\u2019 roll. Guitars, bass and drums,\u201d Nathen Maxwell said.<\/p>\n
The Colorado Springs trio \u2014 Shelby Maxwell on vocals and guitar, Nathen Maxwell of Flogging Molly on bass and Art Brown on drums \u2014 navigates an ambient, moody, lyrical landscape driven by a rock-forward pulse in their latest album \u201cShores of Scorpio.\u201d<\/p>\n
Exploring grief in \u2018Shores of Scorpio\u2019<\/p>\n
The Colorado Springs rock trio does not shy away from the deep and uncomfortable, writing about grief, identity, marriage and the parts of life that many people might prefer to keep private.<\/p>\n
While social media often encourages people to present polished versions of themselves, Shelby said the band\u2019s music aims for something different. \u201cWe do the opposite and just really bare our souls,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s very raw and real.\u201d<\/p>\n
That honesty runs through Volores\u2019 second album, \u201cShores of Scorpio,\u201d released earlier this year.<\/p>\n
The album follows Shelby\u2019s emotional journey after learning through a 23andMe DNA test that the man who raised her wasn\u2019t her biological father. The songs unfold largely in chronological order, tracing the months that followed as she worked through grief, anger and, eventually, acceptance.<\/p>\n
The cover of Volores\u2019 sophomore album \u201cShores of Scorpio\u201d features Shelby (right) and Nathen Maxwell (left). (Courtesy of Volores)<\/p>\n
\u201cI was obviously shocked, a little taken aback, to say the least,\u201d Shelby said. \u201cWhat do you do when you\u2019re processing news like that as a musician? You\u2019re writing about it \u2026 It was a heavy emotional process, but at the end of it all, we\u2019re very proud of the record.\u201d<\/p>\n
Their influences range from Leonard Cohen and The Cure to the Ramones, Sharon Van Etten and Amyl and the Sniffers, reflected in the band\u2019s emotionally charged rock sound.<\/p>\n
Entering the scene with a unique name <\/p>\n
The band\u2019s name is equally eclectic.<\/p>\n
Both Maxwells are fans of The Cranberries. Shelby especially resonates with the late Dolores O\u2019Riordan\u2019s emotional delivery \u2014 something she hopes listeners hear in Volores\u2019 music.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat emotion being brought into every song, you don\u2019t see that a lot with artists,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s what I would want for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathen also found inspiration in author and hypnotist Dolores Cannon, whose work relates to \u201ca lot of what (the Maxwells) believe in higher thinking and synchronicity and conscious self.\u201d<\/p>\n
The couple originally planned to call the band \u201cDolores\u201d before discovering another group already used the name. Rather than abandon it entirely, they worked through the alphabet until they landed on \u201cVolores.\u201d<\/p>\n
A meeting of minds<\/p>\n
Nathen Maxwell is perhaps best known as the longtime bassist for Celtic punk band Flogging Molly, a role he has held for nearly three decades. That career has taken him around the world and led him to Shelby, whom he met on Flogging Molly\u2019s 2016 Salty Dog Cruise, where they began talking about synchronicity and lyrics.<\/p>\n
It was, as Nathen calls it, \u201clove at first sight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shelby\u2019s creative journey began in middle school, writing poetry. Later, while at home with her son as a young mother, she picked up an acoustic guitar.<\/p>\n
Though both Nathen and Shelby Maxwell built musical careers long before Volores existed, the project itself is relatively young.<\/p>\n
The husband-and-wife duo began writing together during the COVID-19 pandemic, grounded in Colorado Springs with an abundance of extra time on their hands. \u201cWe looked at each other and realized, \u2018Why aren\u2019t we doing music together?’\u201d Nathen said. \u201cVolores is kind of our COVID baby.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Maxwells soon brought drummer Art Brown into the fold, and he\u2019s been \u201cthe heartbeat of the band\u201d ever since, as Shelby describes.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/gazette.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Still-over-the-moon-to-play-with-old-friends-and-new-at-Lost-Evenings.-Absolutely-melting-over-t-822x1024.jpg\")
The Colorado Springs trio Volores \u2014 Shelby Maxwell on vocals and guitar (right), Nathen Maxwell of Flogging Molly on bass (left) and Art Brown on drums (center) \u2014 released their second album \u201cShores of Scorpio\u201d in early 2026. (Courtesy of Volores)<\/p>\n
Settling in Colorado Springs <\/p>\n
Nathen grew up in Los Angeles, started playing his first bass guitar at 15 and joined Flogging Molly for his first show in 1996. Around 20 years ago, he settled in Colorado; Shelby joined him a decade later.<\/p>\n
Today, Volores calls Colorado Springs home. That local identity matters to them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re a Colorado band,\u201d Shelby said. \u201cThis was all created here \u2026 This is our chosen home.\u201d<\/p>\n
The couple believes Colorado\u2019s music scene doesn\u2019t always receive the recognition it deserves.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say Colorado is a slept-on state for our music scene \u2026 You can find anything you\u2019re looking for here and more,\u201d Shelby said.<\/p>\n
\u201cColorado seems to just appreciate good music,\u201d Nathen agrees.<\/p>\n
Though \u201cShores of Scorpio\u201d follows a painful sonic journey, Volores hopes listeners will feel connectedness rather than pain. \u201cI hope they feel some sort of genuine connection to the music,\u201d Nathen said.<\/p>\n
Volores is scheduled to perform at Denver\u2019s Punk Rock Saves Lives<\/a> festival, Saturday, July 11 at Ratio Beerworks Overland. You can also catch a performance at Frank Turner\u2019s Lost Evenings IX festival<\/a> in Dallas, Texas, Sept. 24-27.<\/p>\n The band\u2019s music is available on all major streaming platforms, with more information at volores.com<\/a> and on Instagram at @volores<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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