Following their well-matched 2017 collaboration with
Veruca Salt frontwomen
Nina Gordon and Louise Post, '90s-influenced indie rock trio
Skating Polly roll out their infectious fifth album,
The Make It All Show. It's hard to believe that the Oklahoma City band, fronted by stepsisters Kelli Mayo and Peyton Bighorse, is already on record number five, but
Skating Polly started young -- in 2009, when Kelli was nine and Peyton 14 -- and hit their stride quickly, earning plenty of critical acclaim and attracting notable collaborators like punk legend
Exene Cervenka (
X), who returns here with a guest vocal. Having been introduced to producer Brad Wood (
Liz Phair,
Sunny Day Real Estate) on the sessions for 2017's New Trick EP, Kelli, Peyton, and brother Kurtis Mayo (drums) hired him to helm
The Make It All Show, and his finesse for handling big fuzzy pop can be felt throughout the 11 tuneful tracks. While it's not a big stretch from the riot grrrl and '90s alt-rock styles that
Skating Polly have been mining since their debut, their confidence and attitude seem to swell with each subsequent release. There are a number of standouts here, like the bubblegum punk of "Classless Act," the hooky "Hollywood Factory," and surprisingly, a winsome piano ballad in "Don't Leave Me Gravity." ~ Timothy Monger