Polly Panic – Painkiller

Polly Panic – Painkiller / 2006 Greyday / 12 Tracks / http://www.pollypanic.com / http://www.greydayrecords.com / Reviewed 28 December 2006

There are hints of Ani DiFranco and Tori Amos from the beginning of “Painkiller”. However, Polly Pani goes beyond the styles of those two individuals in the creation of a chaos that has not been heard in popular music since the days of Patti Smith. There is decidedly a much newer style to Polly Panic that is not present in the music of any of the other, previously-mentioned individuals. The entirety of “Painkiller” is compelling and works together to create a full narrative that does not break ranks once throughout the disc’s 12 tracks. During “Little Girl”, there is a much harder rock style to Polly Panic.

This means that the songs could conceivably be on rock radio, playing well alongside Evanescence. In fact, songs like “Pretty Pissing” have a rough, almost metal edge to the song that brings Polly Panic to a sound that is not quite that removed from acts like the Deftones. There are also hints of System of a Down and Janis Joplin that are heavily used during “Painkiller”. There are few acts that Polly Panic genuinely sounds like, and the rough edge that many of these tracks are imbued with further distinguish Polly Panic from the rest of the acts on the market. There are very few in the way of marketable singles on “Painkiller”, but Polly Panic smashes and attacks their way through the disc with all the ability of bands that have been around considerably longer than they have.

The use of instruments in different ways throughout “Painkiller” is another strong suit for Poly Panic. On each of these tracks, the cello continually gives the tracks a much different sound than would be the case if more traditional arrangements were used. The band is coming out of nowhere, and hopefully they will be on the same career path as bands like Nightwish and the aforementioned Evanescence. The band is still on a small record label, but I have a feeling that someone like Candlelight will take a good long look at Polly Panic and give them serious consideration. This is one of the sleeper discs of 2006, and while few individuals know who exactly Polly Panic are, this disc is something that should be searched out. This album will be one of those albums that will be given more and more of an aura as the years go by. Give it a go.

Top Tracks: Little Girl, Paint

Rating: 7.0/10

[JMcQ]