Skating Polly #1

So, friends, I have discovered a new (to me) band, and I am in the first flush of band crush. Their name is Skating Polly. I discovered them about a month ago in my YouTube suggestions. I think the first two videos I watched were new ones – Louder in Outer Space and Hail Mary. After that I was pretty much hooked, and watched many videos after that. Please check out the following playlist featuring five of my favorite videos and be prepared to be wrecked by their raw energy and inventiveness!

Skating Polly consists of step sisters Kelli Mayo and Peyton Bighorse. When their respective parents got together, the two bonded over a shared love of punk music like Patti Smith, the Ramones, etc., and they decided to form a band . At the time Kelli was 9 (!) and Peyton was 15 (that was about 6 years ago already). Kelli plays a “basitar” – a kind of 3 stringed bass that was a little easier for a small human to handle, Peyton plays the guitar, and they switch off on drums. They also both play piano, and of course both sing and write songs. More recently, Kelli’s older brother Curtis has joined on drums to fill out their live sound.

Kelli’s singing has quite a range – from soft, whispery vocals to banshee screams. As revealed in the videos, Kelli has a more manic energy than her older sibling, that tends to put her a little more in the foreground. The older Peyton, whose presence is a bit more restrained, can also go for it vocally. Sometimes Peyton kind of hollers, and drifts out of key, but in a way I find really effective. Yet her voice is also rich and beautiful when she wants to express herself in that way.

For me, Skating Polly has all the stuff I care about – great vocals and harmonies, a minimalist sound based on guitars and drums, and songs with inventive structures and killer hooks. They also have a number of softer songs, with vocals layered over piano or acoustic guitar, that rival the best of them.

I had the chance to see Skating Polly about a week ago in San Francisco. I’ll put up my concert review in a subsequent post.

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One Response to Skating Polly #1

  1. Pingback: Skating Polly, Starcrawler at DNA Lounge – Girlbandgeek Blog

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