PREMIERE: The Pollies’ Warmly Triumphant Return in “Fell in Love”

It’s been far too long since the Pollies’ transcendent Not Here. Fortunately, the three years since their sophomore album’s released hasn’t dulled the band’s luster. If anything, they’ve stayed as sharp as ever, playing as backing bands for the likes of Dylan LeBlanc, Nicole Atkins, John Paul White, and records with Browan Lollar of St. Paul & the Broken Bones and the late Chris Porter. On their new single “Fell in Love,” the Pollies draw from a less-recognized strain of Southern rock: the one that gave us power pop like Big Star and Bob Mould.

Jay Burgess was raised in, on, and by the music of Muscle Shoals – he’s been a “young pup” to many of the Shoals music scene stalwarts for practically his entire adult life, going back to his days as a young guitar slinger and his early songwriting efforts (encouraged by Jason Isbell), all the way through to his creation of the Pollies, the band he’s used as a prism to reflect some of the weirder, prettier strains of Southern rock music. While the quality and professionalism of his native Shoals have always informed their music, the Pollies don’t simply ape the R&B-influenced rock for which their hometown scene is famous.

Jay’s recent marriage inspired this batch of songs that candidly examine the ups and downs of love and how we express it. It’s a freewheeling collection of music that marries Jay’s grand compositions with some of the more fundamental elements of rock’n’roll.

Transmissions will be out on September 28th. You can preorder it here.