Pollyanna Ooze Confidence and ‘Slime’ At Asbury Park’s House of Independents (SHOW REVIEW)

Though Pollyanna are a punk and multi-genre band from New Jersey, you’re just as likely to hear them playing in other states, since they’ve undertaken at least five tours so far, and have another coming up in the early autumn. But it made perfect sense for them to host a festive celebration for their new album Slime at the House of Independents in Asbury Park on July 8^th, and it was a stand up move for them to include and elevate other local bands in the process. Audiences didn’t need to be coaxed into a partying mood, and though it was a five-band night, they arrived early and stayed late. House of Independents also makes for an airy, well-organized venue with upper and lower levels and multiple facilities for fans. 

Of the bands playing before Pollyanna, Jhariah [Clare] brought humor and audience interaction to the event, blending the theatrical with the open and honest discussion of his blown-out keyboard and recent acquaintance with a bassist that enabled him to do the show. But he also brought impressive vocals and a big stage presence. 

Another very local band, Late Waves, took things into heavier guitar-driven territory, which made for a great set-up for Polyanna. Performing with big beats, high energy, and plenty of soul, they also showed off some bluesier elements in their hard rock and metal directions, suggesting a really grounded knowledge of music traditions. 

Pollyanna took a fun Slime-honoring approach to their record release party by using blacklight and responsive colors to suggest ooze on clothing, particularly vocalist and guitarist Jill Beckett (she/they). Opening with high-energy new song “SLUT”, they encouraged fan interaction with “Don’t be afraid to go a little crazy.” Afterwards they said that they appreciated the crowd singing along so supportively since it had been a difficult week, but followed this with an anti-perfectionist message to keep going even when things aren’t measuring up to your ideals.

The band continued by performing another one of their recent singles from Slime, “Pathetic,” and Beckett shared that they hadn’t played the song live in front of people since it was first performed in a mental hospital at the time it was written. The ballad-like confessional song plumbs the depths of an unrequited relationship and reflections on the need to break free but also acknowledge one’s feelings as real. 

Beckett shared that they felt the new album was as good to cry to as mosh to, and maybe sometimes those two things at the same time. It’s true that in many ways, Slime shows a softer side to the band, or more specifically, a more melodic one, with tighter song construction and a more focused exploration of certain sounds, song by song, without abandoning their more abrasive take on difficult themes. 

“Mars”, “Pixie”, and “Lush” formed the core of the set, really emphasizing a lot of continuity on the new album and suggesting the band has become more comfortable with their sound. 

Two songs formed a kind of encore, with “Pasadena” making an appearance as their “California road-trip” song. Concluding with “Relationship Anxiety” was a great choice, also one of their latest singles, and one that brought a confessional feeling forward again to connect with audiences. The song grapples with the difficulties of assumed relationship pressures, relationship avoidance, and coming to terms with one’s own less socially sanctioned polyamory. Beckett shared that it is their “favorite song on the record” and also it’s about “hating the world”. 

The band’s final message suggested that they felt even more galvanized as a unit than ever before and were grateful for each other, both in the context of recording Slime, and in taking the new music on the road. Hearing so much of the new album live suggested the same kind of thing on a deeper level, that Pollyanna have always been a band that pushed into new territory rather fearlessly, but the exploration on Slime suggests an impressively focused sense of identity and goals in terms of sounds and themes. They make quite a statement with Slime, and it’s an even bigger and more celebratory statement when you get a chance to hear them perform it live. 

It would be wrong not to mention that Pollyanna were also giving out small plastic pots of branded green slime to those who bought blacklight Slime-themed t-shirts at the show. The label made an excellent place to stick a QR code to the album, too.