Dillon Schwartz

NJ based pop-power-punk 3-piece outfit Pollyanna brightens up a dreary year with a refreshing, varied, heartfelt, and short but sweet release in Sugar Coat. Clocking in at around 22 minutes this album showcases an impressive range for this band in such a short timespan. Standout staples in “Don’t Stay, Don’t Go” and “Good For You” bring exactly what you’ve come to expect from these punky Jersians, a raucous sugar high set of riffs and driving drums backing lead singer Jill Beckett’s soul searching lyricism. “I Promise, I’m Lying” and “IDKY” bring the tempo down a bit to showcase more of a bedroom pop ballad from these folks and I can’t lie, I came here for the punk sensibility, but I’m definitely sticking around for what are really just some extremely solidly executed pop songs. Seriously every chorus, every hook on this thing is sticky as hell, and I’ll find myself wandering down a street and all of a sudden I’ll just have Jill’s voice echoing in my skull. This isn’t to say that lyrics and vocal delivery are the only thing Pollyanna brings to the table, as melancholic and ruminate as Jill Beckett’s lyrics are, it’s the upbeat twinkly guitar work Jill brings alongside drummer Dan McCool and bassist Brandon Bolton that makes this band work. This is a really cohesive trio and I’m most excited by their range, which is showcased in short yet balanced order on Sugar Coat.

Overall, Sugar Coat is a perfect name for this album, Pollyanna’s lyrics here really are quite bitter but they’re brought balance by excellent backing instrumentation and a great sense of pacing within songs and in the tracklist itself. 

Why are you still reading this? Go, listen to ‘em. 

Tracklist

1. Don’t Stay, Don’t Go (3:24)

2. I Promise, I’m Lying (3:32)

3. IDKY (feat. Ophelia Booth) (3:04)

4. Good For You (3:26)

5. Grown Apart (4:30)

6. Never Know (4:08)

Pollyanna is: 

Jill Beckett-Vocals/Guitar

Brandon Bolton-Bass

Dan McCool-Drums