Carried by high energy guitar work, blunt lyrics and catchy as fuck choruses, it would be easy to write Pollyanna’s latest album, Slime off as just yet another fun to listen to punk record, but it’s so much more than that. Comprised of twelve incredibly vulnerable, personal and honest songs, Slime finds vocalist Jill Beckett exploring the painful process of getting out of an abusive relationship with someone else, finding self-love and accepting the world for the fucked-up place that it is. From start to finish, Slime will take you on a cathartic lyrical journey that is made even stronger by spectacular songwriting.
Kicking off Slime are three explosive tracks: the guitar-driven “Pixie”, the empowering anthem “SLUT” and timeless “Lush”, which finds Beckett asking “Have I gone crazy?”. Throughout the album, Pollyanna prove again and again that they are more than capable of dynamic songwriting, too. While the band easily could have just coasted on the energy from the first few songs and pumped out nine more high energy punk tracks, they instead explore new sounds throughout the entirety of the album. The poppy “Smile” arrives just a few tracks ahead of the intimate and introspective acoustic song, “Pathetic,” which perfectly showcases Beckett’s softer side and impressive vocal range. Arriving just one song later is the angry and energetic “Okay.”, which picks up the pace once more with Beckett screaming out their rage alongside gritty bass and explosive guitar.
One of the album’s greatest strengths is just how cathartic and healing it feels. Songs like the angry “Okay.” sit perfectly alongside “Pasadena”, which finds Beckett looking back longingly on what could have been. Again and again, Slime proves that healing and growth isn’t always linear, and that’s okay. Some songs are powerful, self-love anthems, while others touch on the regret and fear that comes along with letting go and moving on. In fact, some of the strongest songs on the album are the softest ones, like “Pathetic”, the longing “Jado” and incredibly powerful closer, “who do you want me to be?”. The sonic journey that Pollyanna goes through on Slime perfectly reflects the journey that one goes through while healing, which is what makes this album such a success.