Skating Polly – The Big Fit – Album Review

coverSkating Polly

The Big Fit

Chap Stereo Records

LP – CD – DL

Skating Polly are a sister duo from Oklahoma who describe their music as ‘Ugly Pop’. They say that ‘We have some loud punk sounding songs and some quiet songs too.’ Fighting Boredom have been listening to their new album ‘The Big Fit’. We were impressed to say the least.

How do I say this without sounding old and patronising? How do you articulate that you know how the young feel even though age has dimmed the white hot anticipation of youth? How do you say that you know how they feel and that they should grab that feeling with both hands, abuse at the stars and run with it? I’ll tell you what you do, you listen and you watch and you laugh and you cry as you watch them going through all the same shit that you did, but better.

Skating Polly call this music ugly pop. They have been together for six years starting out recording in their living room, they are stepsisters and have produced a record of beauty and rage. Last year they toured supporting Babes in Toyland. That’s Babes in Toyland. Really. One listen to this record and you can see why. It’s as if the sweet, skewed pop that begins many of these songs is the face of friendship, how they belong together in their band. But when they slip into the screaming holy bloody rage that challenges anything by Hole at their most caustic it’s the sound of kicking back at a world that is unfair, wrong and needs changing.

It’s astounding that two kids have made this, and mean kids in the best sense of the word because we oldies fucking hate not being young. This is the sound of youth not yet distilled, of not knowing anything but being absolutely sure about everything. The vocals are quite beautiful in places, the tone pure and free, but when that changes to the screams and cries of anger they keep their beauty just in a wilder, nastier way.

It’s like a forest in a storm, back and forth and splitting and breaking. The sound keeps you and drowns you until you can’t get away. When they are still and quiet as most of the songs are at one point or another and the pop edge comes into play it still can’t disguise the dark ugliness lurking below the surface of The Big Fit.

So I hope that this review didn’t venture into reminiscing as that would not befit an album of this quality. If you are old and reading this, remember and listen. If you are young, scream along and let the emotion inside the noise take you away.

Skating Polly’s website is skatingpolly.com. They are also on Facebook and Twitter.

All words by Adrian Bloxham.

Adrian Bloxham

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