Pollyanna Packs a Punch
Jess Wallace | April 7, 2026
Jill Beckett (vocals/guitar), Daniel McCool (drums), Brandon Bolton (bass) and Jack Rose (guitar) make up the four-piece New Jersey band Pollyanna, which combines elements of punk, pop and hard rock into an emotional roller coaster of rage and catharsis. Pollyanna, who rose to prominence in the tri-state music scene by blending moments of queer joy, trans pride and unadulterated vulnerability with angry, "burn the world down" fervor, was born into the DIY touring culture.
With their razor-sharp new single “Gravedigger”, which was produced with Brett Romnes (Hot Mulligan, Mom Jeans, The Front Bottoms), the band is maintaining their momentum after their I Surrender Records debut “Slime”. Pollyanna is taking bold new leaps with their sophomore album, explaining the path of trading hatred for joy—and they're barely getting started.
Pollyanna’s new album “Weirdo” is a crunchy, nasty, head-banging journey of self-actualization and mental health. “Nonstop Disco” and “Push & Pull”, which begin as slower tracks but gradually begin to incorporate more of the breathtakingly gorgeous moments to adore Pollyanna for, are excellent examples of this. However, there are still songs like “Die Slow”, “Gravedigger” and “SUPERPOWER” that are fast-paced and exhilarating. The album's occasional feeling of being so brief is the only aspect of it one could possibly fault.
Their standout track (and their first), topping their Spotify charts as most popular as of 11/12, “Boygirl”, showcases the queer roots that their image suggests with lyrics like “Too feminine to be a boy/ Too masculine to be girl/ It’s all a fucking hoax to fit the comfort of a cishet world”, straightforward, to the point. The album continues not in a chronological narrative and with no larger story to weigh down the individual message of each song, you have a collection of tracks that give you a new but equally visceral feeling every two and a half minutes. Pollyanna is simple but raw and expressive in a way that shows anger in many facets. Like I mentioned earlier for example, “Die Slow” is aggressive and fast paced, you can feel the beat in your throat, whereas “Nonstop Disco” is slow and thoughtful.
My personal favorite track of the album is “Good Enough”, one of the more indie inspired songs of the album. It strikes a chord for me that I can’t not mention. Jill Beckett really shines here with their visceral emotion coming through each note they sing. “I’ll never be good enough for me / ‘Cause I'll never be good enough for you”, a lyric that shows the essence of the song, makes it clear that the message is to the oppressor, whoever that is for the person listening.
Pollyanna is loud and in your face. They take an aggressive, chest-thumping beat and combine it with beautiful melodies and simple lyricism to create tracks that are ideal for moshing. Each song is a unique blend of indie rock and DIY punk seeping with righteous fury and deep sadness and radical love, all anyone- especially my fellow CD lovers- would love to punch, kick and scream to.
