The guys behind Nottingham's infamous DirtyFilthySexy club night laid on a great night's entertainment as part of this year's Pride celebrations, and onstage entertainment came in the form of Huddersfield four-piece Bad Pollyanna. With little room on the Salutation's miniscule stage for the band to move around, they put in a valiant effort to entertain the portion of the attendees that was looking at the stage and not their drinks, to a warm reception.Bad Pollyanna's brand of theatrical rock has elements of pop, goth, Industrial and so on, all wrapped up in some very powerfully delivered songs. Vocalist Olivia was the centre of attention, partly due to her elaborate outfit and partly due to her being the only member who was able to really move around much in the space available. Her impressive vocals were the high point of each song (not surprising as she's a vocal coach), and she's blessed with a powerful range, but it's the songs that let the side down a little.
They're perfectly serviceable tunes, but once the opening track (and popular YouTube video song) 'Liquid Lover' is out of the way, you've pretty much heard everything about their sound. Like an indie-ish Evanescence or a punky Tapping The Vein, Bad Pollyanna's material needs a bit more fire to it. A bit more drive.
Each member rocks out on stage like pros, but the band needs more of a definite musical identity before they can cross over into the big leagues. The audience numbers grew during their set, demonstrating the draw they have once they're at full pelt, and I'd love to see them build on the foundations of their sound and make it fuller, more personal, and a little harder. Those points aside, Bad Pollyanna put on a strong performance and will no doubt be very welcome back there again in the future. Their set came to a close with an excellent, sultry rock cover of 'You Got The Love' by The Source, which ended things on a high note. I look forward to seeing them again, once they're able to kick some more arse.
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