Concepts of musical juxtaposition with 90s/00s alt-rock atmosphere
Bristol-based alt-rock two-piece Pollyanna Blue returns with the release of their new single ‘Stray’, taken from their upcoming EP due later this year.
Formed in the summer of 2019, Pollyanna Blue is led by Zoe Collins (guitar and vocals) and Rich Earle (Bass and vocals). Although based in different cities, the pandemic forced the band to really utilise the digital age, writing tracks back and forth online before coming to Bristol to finalise in person.
Their name was inspired by a self-help book ‘Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway’, which talks about a nickname ‘Pollyanna’, typically given to a person who is deemed overly optimistic. That ethos, blended with the waves of difficult emotions life throws at you, creates a concept of musical juxtaposition within the 90s/00s alt-rock atmosphere which sees the duo wield their self-discovery, vulnerability and love of music to create something authentic and raw to connect with anyone experiencing some type of hardship.
‘Stray’, the third single from Pollyanna Blue, is kicking off the band’s 2023 and showing the eclectic songwriting styles Zoe brings to each song. Taken from their upcoming EP due Summer 2023, Stray was produced, engineered and mixed by Ash Scott (Memorist, Harper, Aniimalia).
The inspiration for the single came from a situation that occurred whilst Zoe was studying for her Masters in songwriting and production. She was also dealing with a situationship with someone who was leading her on and then constantly walking in and out of her life. Zoe twisted this situationship to fashion a dramatic lyrical story, depicting a feud between an owner and their stray cat.
“The owner is trying to fulfil their role of caring for their pet, but no matter how much love, affection and playtime they would give to this cat, it would never want to hang around. The cat is adamant to make sure that the owner knows that they do what they want, and when they want, because they will always play by their own rules”, explains lyricist and vocalist Zoe Collins.
To add more dimension to their latest alt-rock anthem, Pollyanna Blue lyrically framed the verses to come from the perspective of the owner and the choruses come from the perspective of the cat. The lyrics from the chorus ‘It’s what I want to do, how I chose to behave, I’m too wild to domesticate, I will always be a stray’ purrr-fectly captures the attitude coming from a rebellious and untameable cat.
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