Oklahoma step-sisters Kelli Mayo and Peyton Bighorse sit on the verge of releasing their most overt statement against conformity yet. Having penned the phrase “ugly-pop” to describe their borderless sound, Skating Polly’s latest full-length, ‘The Big Fit’, sees them simultaneously at their most assured and schizophrenic, a concept Kelli isn’t afraid to shy away from. Expressing her adoration of the latter word it’s far from negative. The duo have built their soaring underground reputation on bending convention and through it have welcomed notable fans including Exene Cervenka of punk icons X, and Babes In Toyland.
These high-profile associations have undoubtedly built exposure for Skating Polly, the pair joining Babes In Toyland on the road, yet to Kelli and Peyton this is merely a fortunate by-product. Their initial motivation in forming these relationships was, and remains, fandom. “We wanted to tell her she changed our world,” Kelli says of meeting Babes In Toyland drummer Lori Barbero, an ever-present enthusiasm bubbling in her voice. “We meet people and we’re nice to them,” she continues. “I don’t expect people to actually check out our band, or to be a fan. It’s the most surreal feeling. For me it’s enough just to meet these people, or even be in the same room as them.”
It has taken both Kelli and Peyton some time to shake the frustration at the inevitable comparisons these associations have brought with them. “Ugly-pop”, as Kelli explains was a direct response to being pigeonholed alongside their idols. “I used to think it was wrong for people to call us punk,” she recalls. “I thought essentially what we have are pop songs with distortion and dirt.” In most cases that attitude has shifted, with Skating Polly clearly more comfortable with their own sound.
“I sometimes mind when people call us riot grrrl,” Kelli adds, admitting to her limited knowledge of bands associated to the movement. “Riot grrrl was really just the movement,” Peyton agrees. “You can’t be riot grrrl if you weren’t around when that was happening. Even bands that had women in them around that time are still miscategorised.”
“It doesn’t hurt my feelings, but I don’t identify directly with that,” Kelli elaborates. “A lot of those songs would be addressing some sort of feminist issue. Our songs are written with more personal intentions. Although the overall message could be taken as this powerful feminist thing, and I like that, Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hanna herself said she didn’t want riot grrrl to be revived, so we aren’t.”
Instead Skating Polly’s message on ‘The Big Fit’ is about finding individual identity and space in the world. Rather than trying to follow in the footsteps of those who came before them, Kelli and Peyton are forging their own path. On their fourth album in half a decade, that path has seen them fully embrace melody. As the record flows from gritty anger to whimsical tones, the required consistency sits within it. As Kelli admits during the conversations, it’s their most melodious record to date; a fitting release under the ugly-pop umbrella. “It’s a lot poppier and more complex than our previous albums,” Peyton agrees. “It’s made us better songwriters. We’ve got better at our instruments and making up melodies.”
The record sees them blend their early influences with this newfound confidence in composition. The result matches their empowering message, stopping short of committing to any one style. “’The Big Fit’ is the first album where we have a concept,” Kelli explains. “It’s about not worrying about fitting in. You can make things fit you however you want. Double XL t-shirts are aren’t made to fit me, but they fit for me. On the record all of the songs don’t sound alike. Because they are so different they fit in a weird way, like XL t-shirts. There are no rules.”
“Generally all of our songs don’t have a message. They’re about personal things that are happening in our lives, or our own emotions,” Kelli continues before adding a personal mantra. “We do want everyone to feel like they can create music, and have a happy and creative life. We’re totally encouraging art, and especially girls making art.”
Their unique sound comes from the punk undercurrent, a result of their early exposure by key family members. ‘The Big Fit’ brings both the unashamed anger of punk and their affinity to melody together, presenting itself as deliberately sporadic and consistently heated. “There’s something about punk music that when I do listen to it and I’m in the right mood for it, it just connects with my soul,” Kelli reveals. “It really feels like it fits perfectly in my taste range. It’s everything I like about music.”
This passion bleeds not only into their sound but into their recording process too. Whilst laying ‘The Big Fit’ down, Kelli lost her voice on numerous occasions. Peyton, they recount, fainted during a vocal take. “It was on ‘For The View’,” she notes, “and I thought I could do the chorus in one take. After the first line I didn’t have any more air and I collapsed to the ground. I did it part by part the next day,” they both laugh.
It is this spirit that underpins ‘The Big Fit’ and stops the record sounding inconsistent. Their willingness to experiment with their sound and to build on their influences is commendable, clearly one of the many reasons they now count their heroes as fans. As they reveal the existence of an unreleased “quiet album”, on hold until it can be reworked into something “perfect”, one thing remains clear about Skating Polly’s future: they sure as hell will be doing it their own way.