Album Review // Skating Polly // Chaos County Line

El Camino Media

4.5/5 stars

Skating Polly's latest album, Chaos County Line is wonderfully epic in scope, coming in at 67 minutes between its 18 tracks — Lookout Records-era bands would give a nod of approval. Perfect for fans of Charly Bliss, thanks in part to the breathy nasal affectation that both Skating Polly's Kelli Mayo and Charly Bliss's Eva Hendricks use. Along with Mayo, Peyton Bighorse trades off lead vocal duties, her voice more fit for fans of Screaming Females and Sleater-Kinney. The duo provides a nice balance, especially with an album as varied as this, the sixth full-length album (the first since 2018's The Make It All Show) from the trio. The sonic diversity is evident in the first three singles, the grungy "Hickey King," the retro vibes of "Tiger at the Drugstore," and the power pop of "I'm Sorry for Always Apologizing."

Beginning in Oklahoma City and now centered in Tacoma, Washington, the band was formed by stepsiblings Mayo and Bighorse, when they were just adolescents, releasing their debut album when Mayo was 10 years old, their follow-up being produced by X's Exene Cervenka. They were later joined by their (step)brother Kurtis Mayo. Filled with frenetic and creative tracks that harness all the creative energy of the mid-'90s, this album sees the band at their most mature, moving far beyond any lingering novelty.