Polly Money steps into spotlight with EP ‘T-shirt Nothing Else’
The Cornwall-born artist has perfectly merged sweet melodies with tender, raw lyricism to perfectly document queer romance.
Photo: Cal McIntyre
Polly Money is already a familiar face among indie pop enthusiasts following an 18-month stint as a backing vocalist and guitarist for The 1975’s live ensemble during their last tour. However, with the release of T-shirt Nothing Else, she shapes a space for herself with a solo confidence that showcases her incredible range, exploring personal growth and romance through warm, catchy hooks, dreamy vocals and emotional storytelling.
The EP opens with Milk & Honey, a charming and euphoric track that replicates the feeling and complexities of queer fledging love through Money’s signature vocals and infectious, sparkling production. The upbeat melody complements the light and breezy production to arouse the elation and nervous vulnerability that can come hand in hand. The emotional weight behind the lyricism showcases Money’s honesty and personal perspective on the formative period of a queer romantic experience through lyrics such as “We were best friends and she doesn’t leave us sit at home together / It’s mother nature so why’d she act like it’s unnatural?”.
i’m not proud takes a lean into the soft folk-rock genre with a track that boygenius would be jealous of. The second track on the EP delves into the feelings of guilt and attraction that come from the lust and emotional conflict as a result of a desire for someone whilst being with someone else. The honest lyrics “I’m thinking about you when she goes down” and “Got my girl waiting at home / So I’m coming back slow, so I got five more minutes with you” explores Money’s truthful storytelling on a more nuanced subject in romance that contains substance. The song begins with a building acoustic guitar that introduces Money’s irresistible vocals into the track with layers of bouncing synths bringing a brightness and groove to a dimmer subject.
T-shirt Nothing Else introduces us to two new tracks in the form of 30 Minutes and T-shirt. The dynamic 30 Minutes explores the guilt of a past relationship with a glimmering fingerpicked guitar, before exploding into a beat borrowing from 2000’s R&B. Following that is the short but sweet T-shirt with a lush chorus induced guitar and soft, stunning vocals doing all the talking to carry the feeling of a loving relationship across to the listener.
The closing track, Anything, reflects on Money’s personal experience dealing with imposter syndrome while she was on tour with The 1975, with a listening experience that can only be described as a comfort blanket in song form. She expresses her self-doubt with an openness shown in the lyrics “And I’m not even that good at it, I just got lucky”. It can even be said that the track has a tinge of influence from The 1975’s pop sound on scaled-down proportions but with equal effect.
With T-shirt Nothing Else, Polly Money has created five intimate stories in an EP that explores her self-growth and proves that she will be a future voice to be heard in the indie pop genre.
T-shirt Nothing Else is out now via Cool Online.