Laura Watling began performing music with the Southern California pop band the Autocollants in 1995. Together with guitarist Ed Mazzucco, she helped during the early days of Shelflife Records, which transplanted itself to New York in the late '90s. Along with drummer Dwayne Palasek and guitarist Tim Morris, the Autocollants released two singles, two cassettes, one retrospective CD, and appeared on nine compilation CDs during their brief tenure.