* En anglais uniquement
Fusing elements of '90s-inspired alt-rock and riot grrrl with classic D.I.Y. punk and indie pop, savvy Oklahoma siblings band
Skating Polly found national exposure in the early 2010s, earning both critical acclaim and support from several influential rock mentors. Championed by
Exene Cervenka and members of
the Flaming Lips and
Veruca Salt, step-sisters
Kelli Mayo and Peyton Bighorse became a national touring act supporting high-profile bands and releasing a string of smart, hooky albums while still teenagers. They would later recruit brother Kurtis Mayo on drums and form their own label, Chap Stereo.
Formed in Oklahoma City in 2009 when
Mayo was only 9 and Bighorse just 14, the two young women played for the first time at their family's Halloween party, improvising simple songs with Bighorse on drums and
Mayo playing the two-stringed basitar. Encouraged by the results, they began writing songs inspired by the '70s punk and early-'90s alt-rock they'd heard from their parents, with both of them switching instruments and lead vocals. Favoring a primitive, punk-influenced style that falls somewhere between riot grrrl acts like
Bikini Kill and
Babes in Toyland, and classic twee pop like
Beat Happening and
Kimya Dawson, the two recorded their debut album, Taking Over the World, for Norman, Oklahoma-based indie Nice People Records. After introducing themselves to
X vocalist
Exene Cervenka after one of her shows,
Mayo and Bighorse convinced
Cervenka to produce their second album,
Lost Wonderfuls, in 2011. The album was mixed by
Flaming Lips drummer
Kliph Scurlock, and its success led the group to open tours for prominent indie acts like
Deerhoof,
Band of Horses,
the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and
the Flaming Lips. For their third album, they worked with another influential figure, K Records guru and
Beat Happening frontman
Calvin Johnson. The record, titled
Fuzz Steilacoom, was released in March 2014 via the duo's own Chap Stereo imprint. 2015 saw the release of a pair of new singles as
Skating Polly continued to expand their touring range with a stint supporting
Babes in Toyland throughout Europe. By year's end they'd completed their fourth album,
The Big Fit, which arrived in March 2016.
Among
Skating Polly's growing list of admirers were
Veruca Salt frontwomen
Nina Gordon and
Louise Post who reached out later that year looking to collaborate. Working together in Los Angeles, the combo wrote and recorded the three-song EP
New Trick, which was released in April 2017. The
New Trick sessions introduced them to producer
Brad Wood (
Liz Phair,
Smashing Pumpkins), who went on to helm
Skating Polly's next record, 2018's
The Make It All Show. By this point, their brother, Kurtis Mayo, had permanently joined the band on drums. ~ Timothy Monger