Combining the unique and diverse sound of the cello, a classic instrument in every sense of the word, and playing so far outside of the box that it is impossible to see the monotony that IS the box, is one clever feat indeed. And that feat is mindfully crafted by none other than Polly Panic, member of Rasputina. What we get from Polly, in this case, is a glimpse into her originality through a lens of solo bliss. Her new and upcoming album titled ‘Losing Form’ is ten songs written and recorded without holding back and without letting go. Pure sonic bliss.
‘Losing Form’ will be available in stores as of release day and can be ordered digitally via Bandcamp. CDs be purchased in advance at Polly Panic’s live show and pre-ordered via the artist’s website.
Polly Panic is currently touring the East Coast to promote this album, together with drummer Caleb Beissart, spreading the gospel of the southern-gothic high priestess of cello rock.
About Polly Panic
Cello-shredding rock siren Polly Panic is back with her third studio album ‘Losing Form’, to be released on CD and digitally via Write Hook Records on November 20. This is Polly Panic’s first album in six years, following ‘Fragment’ (2012) and ‘Painkiller’ (2006).
Polly Panic is Jenette Mackie, who wrote and recorded the 10 songs comprising this album in 2016-2017, sandwiching the process around time spent rehearsing and touring both coasts with her cello-driven band Rasputina, founded by Melora Creager and formerly including Zoë Keating and Julia Kent.
Arguably the best Polly Panic album yet, this also represents a turning point for this artist, having joined forces with Write Hook Records on the heels of touring as part of Rasputina. Inspired by PJ Harvey, Tom Waits, Tori Amos, and Nirvana, this is cello-driven art rock with intense, powerful vocals and lyrics that take center stage.
Driven by a nucleus of cello, drums and vocals, these tunes are woven from tales of lustful obsession (‘Side Piece’), co-dependent addiction (‘Losing Form’), joy in realizing you don’t need who and what you thought you needed (‘Hollows’), and a scorned lover’s lethal revenge (the anthemic rocker ‘Annie’, an ode to Annie Oakley and to women everywhere who live life and experience love on their own terms).
@pollypanic [rotatingtweets screen_name=’pollypanic’]Polly Panic’s uniquely dark and theatrical chamber rock has a sound that’s much larger than one would expect from just one vocalist playing the cello along with a drummer.
“I knew the cello could be everything. Of all the instruments, the cello is closest to the human voice and its capacity for expressing emotion is unparalleled. It was the most fierce and yet the softest most sorrowful instrument I had ever heard,” says Polly Panic.
“This album represents the strength to march on, being inspired by self-examination and reason for existence.”
Indeed Polly Panic herself had gone through massive challenges to continue with her art, from constant touring and getting sober to label changes and childbirth. Every step of the way has defined her to find that Polly Panic was not just something she did… It was who she is.
On ‘Losing Form’, Polly Panic got a helping hand from recording engineer Stephen Shoenecker at the Heritage Music studio in Bristol, Tennessee, studio drummer Ryan Rasnake, and mastering engineer Seva (Corrosion of Conformity) at Soundcurrent Mastering.
SOURCE: Official Bio
‘Losing Form’ Tracklist:
- Annie
- Beggar Rose
- Losing Form
- Purpose
- Precious
- Hollows
- The Sidepiece
- To the Bone
- Twisted Up
- Shadow
“The listener is immediately struck by an assaulting tenderness entangled with dark, odd-metered theater. Think PJ Harvey meets Captain Beefheart”
– Robert Church, Radio FM Syndication“This is dark electric rock at its core – it is afire, burning on the kindle of Mackie’s own personal experiences and fantasies. Apart from the obvious association with Rasputina, this music also calls to mind Apocalyptica, 2Cellos and Zoë Keating insofar as the cello work goes and Tori Amos and PJ Harvey in terms of her song construction and stylistics”
– Big Takeover Magazine“Polly Panic takes the very idea of a cello, blows it up with a big box of dynamite, picks up the pieces, and reassembles them into something that rocks harder than most guitar songs”
– Sessions From The Box“Jenette Mackie of Polly Panic wields the cello like an ax, wails like a rock goddess, and sends us straight up to the ether. She then whispers and hums to bring us back to earth. It’s an intense and unique journey”
– Meeghan Kane, Unsweetened Magazine
LINKS:
http://www.pollypanic.net
http://www.pollypanic.bandcamp.com
http://www.facebook.com/pollypanicmusic
http://www.twitter.com/pollypanic
http://www.instagram.com/pollypanic
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCor_9odjx2FfiqtTXzfXCMw/videos
