Today Skating Polly release their sprawling, combustible and uncompromising new double-album ‘Chaos County Line’ via El Camino Media.
Over the past decade, few artists have embodied the unbridled freedom of punk like Skating Polly. Formed when stepsisters Kelli Mayo and Peyton Bighorse were just 9 and 14, the band have channeled their chameleonic musicality into a sound they call “Ugly Pop,” unruly and subversive and wildly melodic. With Kelli’s brother Kurtis Mayo joining on drums in 2017, they’ve also built a close-knit community of fans while earning the admiration of their musical forebears, a feat that’s found them collaborating with icons like X’s Exene Cervenka and Beat Happening’s Calvin Johnson, touring with Babes In Toyland, and starring as the subject of a feature-length documentary.
On their new double album ‘Chaos County Line’, Skating Polly reach a whole new level of self-possession, ultimately sharing their most expansive and emotionally powerful work to date. The follow-up to 2018’s ‘The Make It All Show’, ‘Chaos County Line’ finds Skating Polly showcasing the depth of their growth, both as songwriters and personally. Whether they’re opening up about matters internal (identity, disassociation, unhealthy coping mechanisms) or external (obsession, deception, gaslighting), Skating Polly imbue that outpouring with an unfettered emotional truth.
Listen to ‘Chaos County Line’ in full:Youtube | Spotify | Apple Music | Other links
Working again with Brad Wood, the acclaimed producer behind indie-rock classics like Liz Phair’s Exile in Guyville, ‘Chaos County Line’ sees their songs journey from art-punk to noise-rock to piano-driven power-pop, matching that musical complexity with a sharply honed narrative voice that manifests in countless forms (ultravivid poetry, diary-like confession, fearlessly detailed storytelling, etc.).
Over the course of its 18 kaleidoscopic tracks, ‘Chaos County Line’ embraces the kind of combustible emotion that comes from fully uncompromised self-expression. “I think on this record Kelli and Peyton were really confident in being more honest and more experimental at the same time, whereas in the past they might’ve made the lyrics more poetic in order to cloak that honesty a bit,” says Kurtis. And as their songs shift from devastating to exhilarating to gloriously cathartic, Skating Polly hope to provide the same sense of solace they found in creating the album. “I’ve had people tell me we’ve helped them get through a breakup or an abusive relationship or the death of someone they loved, and all these other heavy obstacles everyone goes through,” says Kelli. “I feel like I’m not necessarily the best person to draw a map on how to live the happiest life, but I like the idea that our songs can make other people’s lives better in some way. I want our music to be like armor.”
‘Chaos County Line’ track list:
1. Baby On My Birthday
2. Masquerade
3. Hickey King
4. Girls NIght
5. All The Choices
6. Booster Seat
7. Hush Now
8. Rabbit Food
9. Tiger At The Drugstore
10. Singalong
11. Someone Like a Friend
12. Double Decker
13. Charlie’s Brother
14. Send A Priest
15. I’m Sorry For Always Apologizing
16. Not Going Back Again
17. Man Out There ft. David Yow
18. Party House
Skating Polly live dates:
Jun. 22 – 7th St Entry – Minneapolis, MN
Jun. 23 – X-Ray Arcade – Cudahy, WI
Jun. 24 – Beat Kitchen – Chicago, IL
Jun. 25 – Blueberry Hill – St. Louis, MO
Jun. 27 – Rumba Cafe – Columbus, OH
Jun. 28 – Small’s – Hamtramck, MI
Jun. 29 – Bovine Sex Club – Toronto, ON
Jun. 30 – Turbo Haüs – Montréal, QC
Jul. 1 – Press Room – Portsmouth, NH
Jul. 2 – Middle East Restaurant and Nightclub – Cambridge, MA
Jul. 6 – Saint Vitus Bar – New York, NY
Jul. 7 – Kung Fu Necktie – Philadelphia, PA
Jul. 8 – Comet Ping Pong – Washington, DC
Jul. 9 – Capital Ale House Downtown – Richmond, VA
Jul. 11 – Cat’s Cradle – Carrboro, NC
Jul. 12 – Purgatory at The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
Jul. 13 – Will’s Pub – Orlando, FL
Jul. 14 – New World Brewery – Tampa, FL
Jul. 15 – Handlebar – Pensacola, FL
Jul. 16 – Santos – New Orleans, LA
Aug. 25 – South Sound Block Party – Olympia, WA
