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Straylight Run's Michelle DaRosa goes solo

Glenn Gamboa | DROPS

July 6, 2008

A year ago at this time, Straylight Run was in the middle of launching its major-label debut "The Needles the Space" (Universal/ Republic) with a national tour. Today, the Long Beach-based band isn't exactly sure what will come next.

Michelle DaRosa, who has shared the singing duties with her brother, John Nolan, since the band started in 2003, is leaving Straylight Run - which also includes bassist Shaun Cooper and drummer Will Noon - to work on a solo album. "It was a difficult decision to make and please know that I have enjoyed all my time in Straylight Run," DaRosa wrote on the band's MySpace page. "John, Will, Shaun and I are all still close friends, and we look forward to playing together again some day."

On "The Needles the Space," the songs featuring DaRosa - especially the gorgeous "How Do I Fix My Head?" and the bouncy "Still Alone" - showed the stronger hand she was taking with her writing, helping the band take off in new directions.

"While we are sad to see Michelle go and are going to miss her terribly, we are 100 percent behind her in her solo ambitions," the remaining Straylight members said in a statement.

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Straylight Run - now as a trio - are recording new songs, though how they will be released remains up in the air, after the band split with Universal. "I see not many of you know what we're recording for," Cooper wrote on the band's MySpace page. "To be perfectly frank, neither do we. The tentative plan is to release these songs digitally and possibly do some sort of hard copy collectible deal as well. It's still a work in progress and details still need to be ironed out."

In a way, it's a return to the band's roots. After Nolan and Cooper left Taking Back Sunday in 2003, they decided to introduce their new music by posting songs on their Web site, the strength of which immediately caused an indie-rock frenzy.

The wait for lightning to strike twice begins now.

Contact The Long Island Sound at glenn.gamboa@newsday.com or become friends with ndmus at MySpace or imeem.