Happy Pollies ‘Transmissions’ release day! We’re so proud to finally bring this record to the masses.
listen / buy - Bandcamp - LP, CD, digital
https://thepollies.bandcamp.com
Jay Burgess of the Pollies was raised in, on, and by the music of Muscle Shoals - He’s been a “young pup” to many of the Shoals music scene stalwarts for practically his entire adult life, going back to his days as a young guitar slinger for bands like Sons of Roswell and his early songwriting efforts encouraged by Jason Isbell, all the way through to his creation of the Pollies, the band he’s used as a prism to reflect some of the weirder, prettier strains of Southern rock music. While the focus on quality and professionalism of his native Shoals has always infected his music, the Pollies don’t simply ape the R&B-influenced rock for which his hometown scene is famous. Many have pegged their music to decidedly non-Southern influences like Wilco or Neil Young, but the true spirit of the Pollies’ idiosyncratic take on Southern music is reflective of a long tradition that bears zero resemblance to Molly Hatchett or the like. The sounds of Southern rock bands who don’t fit within the genre “Southern rock,” foremost among them the legendary Big Star from up the highway in Memphis, echo throughout the Pollies slightly weird, sometimes noisy, always pretty rock songs. There is a lot more connecting Memphis and Muscle Shoals than the fabled Highway 72, and with “Transmissions,” their third full-length LP, the Pollies continue to remind that rock music is Southern music and that Southern rock, whether flowing from Memphis, Athens, Chapel Hill or Muscle Shoals, is anything but a cliché of hairy 70s bands singing about whiskey with rebel flags on the kick drum.
The evolution of the Pollies has brought them full circle – their history has included collaborations with Browan Lollar of St. Paul & the Broken Bones and members of various Shoals-area bands, and backing gigs with the likes of John Paul White, Dylan LeBlanc, and the late Chris Porter. The band’s well-received current touring with LeBlanc has helped cement the present lineup and their lovely yet gritty sound, like a Southern Crazy Horse veering between delicate beauty and a not-quite-chaotic freight train roar. Jay's recent marriage spawned a batch of heartfelt, but not sappy, songs with a clear-eyed view of love and how we express it, the core of "Transmissions." The return of original drummer Jon Davis and a return to Southern indie label This Is American Music, who released the 1st Pollies LP “Where The Lies Begin,” help anchor the Pollies back where they belong – with one foot in the deep traditions of the Shoals music community and the other firmly planted in the strange cosmos of independent Southern rock. This Is American Music is thrilled to share “Transmissions” – a true “album” and a collection of compelling, crazy, lovely, noisy songs about love and life. Turn it up, and come along for the ride.
Pollies are:
Jay Burgess - Guitars / Vox
Jon Davis - Drums / Percussion
Clint Chandler - Keys & Things
Jay Burgess - vocals, guitars, synths, handclaps
Spencer Duncan - bass and vocals
Clint Chandler - organ, harpsichord, synths
Cody Gasser - guitars, vocals, synths, piano, bass
Anson Hohne - drums, percussion, piano
Miles Jordan - bass and vocals on 9
Toby Hartleroad - guitar on 9
Max Hartleroad - synth on 9
John Paul White - vocals on 9
Amber Murray - vocals on 2 and 10
Jon Davis - handclaps on 1, 4, and 5; piano on 6; drums and vocals on 11
Rob Aldridge - vocals on "Unknown Legend"
Recorded by Jay Burgess at Studio 144 in Greenhill, Alabama
Mixed and Mastered by Chris Bethea at Noise Block
All songs were written by Jay Burgess (Upper Greenhill Publishing, BMI)
except for "Unknown Legend" written by Neil Young
Album art by Chris James at Heavy Color
Band photo by Chad Cochran
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