A cracker of a year for Polly

Perth indie rockers Polly are celebrating the release of their second EP, Maybe, on Friday, July 17, and will be taking it on the road for the next few months on their first national headline tour, which will hit Indian Ocean Hotel on Saturday, July 18 and the Y HQ on Saturday, July 25. DARCY POTTER spoke to Polly singer and guitarist Will Lintott about the new EP, the upcoming tour and the nuances of being a band in the Perth music scene. 

First of all, congratulations on the EP! I listened to it this morning, and it’s awesome. How are you feeling about taking the songs on the road?

Yeah, really excited. I feel like we’ve been sitting on the EP for a while, so it’s nice to be able to start playing the songs. I know we’ve teased them for a while, and we’ve been playing them in the set, but it’s good that people will be able to go and listen to it and hopefully know the songs. I think that’s the goal. We started practising yesterday for the first time in a while, and we’re playing a lot of new songs, so it’s good. We’re really excited. We’re building a good set, I think. So, yeah, keen to take it on the road.

Tell me about the inspiration behind the songs on the new EP.

Well, that’s a good question. I think sonically, when we went in, we brought a lot of Slow Pulp in. We also tried to do a little bit of Smashing Pumpkins-style guitars. I was listening to a lot of albums that were using a ProCo Rat pedal and managed to kind of source like a vintage ProCo, which was really good for recording. I think lyrically, I was listening to a lot of Pinegrove, as I kind of always do any time we go into recording. But then I think, like, references-wise, throughout the whole process, we were looking at a bit of Violent Soho. There were just lots of different bands we were listening to at the time. And then obviously Andy Lawson, you know, he just has such a huge effect on stuff. You just put a lot of faith in him, I guess. And he’ll do a lot of the magic. Andy was a huge part of the process sonically.

How has the band’s songwriting developed on this EP compared to All I Want?

Songwriting-wise, I think it can be dangerous to approach it trying to write about one thing across the whole board. But I think when we were picking and choosing songs that we wanted to put on the EP, we kind of did gravitate towards five songs that kind of spoke about the same thing and the same experience. So that was kind of how we approached it. But in terms of actually writing the songs, it was just, I don’t know, you get a little bit better when you do something more and more. I think I’m learning how to write that can best suit what I want to say and what I want to sing about and how I’m going to sing it. Because sometimes I write a song and it’s real hard to sing. I think, just, we knew how to work it. I knew how to write it a little bit better than when I did it a year ago.

Speaking about Andy Lawson, you’ve worked with him on every song over both the EPs. Tell me more about the process of working with Andy and what draws you back to work with him again and again.

The thing that kind of brings us back in with Andy is just that personal relationship we have with him now. I think when we’re able to connect to a producer that we’re familiar with and who feels invested, that’s super important. I think also for a producer, speaking on behalf of Andy, hopefully he feels like he knows us well. He knows what we want and how we work. I think it’s just hard to kind of get out of that comfort zone when you know something’s so good. We would have moved on if we felt like the product wasn’t quite there. I just think Andy is a pretty incredible producer, and he’s awesome to work with.

Do you have a favourite song on the EP?

I listened back to the EP for the first time yesterday on the way to rehearsal. It’s a coin flip between Shut Up and Hit, the two that are coming out soon. I think potentially Hit might be my favourite. I think it kind of takes you on a bit more of a journey.  And also, I remember when we were recording it, it wasn’t working for a long time. We were considering scrapping it, it just wasn’t coming along. And then I think we added a few guitar parts on the last day, and it just managed to kind of click at the end. And I think that scramble for time was a pretty memorable experience. I think Hit, just for the experience of it.

How are you feeling about your two upcoming Perth shows?

Excited. Very excited. It’s been a while since we’ve done a headline, and I think we’re pretty excited about the bands that are playing. CNTR and Lefty both released new music, and we’re excited to have Curl and Zoevi playing as well, which will be really good. But yeah, just excited to play in front of mates and in front of punters that haven’t seen us for a while. It’s going to be a pretty good couple of nights, and they’ll also warm us up for the East Coast, which will be pretty nice.

And speaking about the support acts, there’s so many amazing bands in Perth. How did you decide on the supports for the Perth shows?

God, I don’t even know. I think you realise that you have to sort it out. And so there’s just names flying around in the group chat. And your agent also has a lot of ideas for who’s good. You kind of stumble through the process till you realise that you’ve got to decide, and then you make a call. And it’s brutal because there’s so many good bands in Perth. You’re always leaving people out. It’s an impossible, impossible role. Yeah, and I feel like we ended up picking some good bands, and we’re excited to see the bands supporting us on the East Coast as well. We’re not too familiar, but we’ve gone and had a listen to some of the bands, and we’re super excited.

And on that note, you’ve supported some of Australia’s biggest bands. Do you have a favourite support slot that you’ve played?

It’s hard to choose. I think we might all have different answers, the three of us. I think for me, Hockey Dad was a pretty good one. We got to do two shows with them, and I think meeting your heroes is always pretty funny. It can disappoint, but they’re just both so nice, Zach and Billy, they’re incredible people. I think Spacey was a good one. Spacey kind of kickstarted a few things for us, and it’s kind of got us connected with a few people, which has been incredible. And that was pretty early days for us as a band as well. I think those two, but every band we’ve played with has been incredible. There hasn’t been a bad thing to say about any of them, and it’s been awesome.

How does it feel to have some massive festival slots like Rolling Sets and Big Sound coming up?

It’s good. It’s exciting. I think we’re just excited to be able to see some bands. I think when we found out Violent Soho were playing, we were pretty chuffed. Just getting a free ticket, getting paid to go watch some bands you really like – it’s pretty good, and we’re excited to do more of it. Yeah, excited to see so many amazing bands on the East Coast.

And one last question. What does the future hold for Polly, beyond the EP and the tour and the festivals?

We’re definitely not slowing down. We’ve got even more music that’s ready. I feel like we’re kind of constantly moving on to the next thing, which you kind of have to do. But, yeah, we’ve got some new music that’s done, and we’ll be slowly releasing that towards the end of the year. And then, yeah, constantly just coming back to the East Coast and playing lots of shows. I think the rest of the year after the tour is going to be pretty busy as well.

Polly’s Maybe Australian Tour hits Indian Ocean Hotel on Saturday, July 18 and the Y HQ on Saturday, July 25, 2026. Tickets are on sale now from linktr.ee