Josaleigh Pollett: From Tic Tacs and Garage Band to the Kilby Block Party Stage 

“Happy Kilby Block Party! It’s better than Christmas.”

Josaleigh Pollett and their band–Julie Boswell, Andrew Goldring, Jordan Watko and Ken Vallejos–opened the stage for Kilby Block Party on Friday, May 16. Growing up, their dad played in a band, and their mom was always playing guitar. Pollett was surrounded by music their entire life, and became enthralled with creating themselves. They released their first studio-recorded album in 2017, but said they’d been making music since they were 14.

“My dad got me a hand-me-down laptop when I was really young, like 12, and I started playing with Garage Band and would just track everything myself,” Pollett said. “I would burn [CDs] all on my computer, take like 20 copies and fold the case out of paper and color over each one. I’d take those to shows.”

As a teenager, Pollett began as a solo act with a guitar. Soon afterward, they began gaining some traction and realised they could play in a band. 

“I just made all of my friends be in my band, which was like, 10 of us, which is way too many people for a band,” they said. “ … That’s who I took into the studio for the 2017 album. And like, some of them didn’t even really know how to play the instrument.”

Making folk music was fun for a while, they described, but after a while, they needed something new. Pollett said they realised they were more into heavier sounds and indie rock, so that’s the music they wanted to make. They met Jordan Watko, who became their writing partner in 2019 and the two created Pollett’s 2020 studio album, “No Woman Is The Sea” featuring tracks like “Crying Wolf.” Some of their influences come from Jen Wosner, Sharon Bennett and TORRES, but Pollett described that there’s a little bit of everything. They have a “Weekly Brosaleigh” playlist on Spotify where they share new releases every Monday with their listeners.

“Sometimes that can be a little convoluting as to like, what do I want my music to sound like, because I’m inputting too much into what I listen to,” Pollett said.

However, it makes for good music like their 2023 Album, “In the Garden, By The Weeds.” It carries a similar melancholy as the singer-songwriter style, but the mixing and layering of vocals and drum beats make it something new. In tracks such as “Empty Things” and “Jawbreaker,” the sound is similar to TORRES’s 2017 album, “Three Futures.” Both have a grunge-like lyrical build and drum patterns that give anyone a feeling of teenage angst and gloom.

Now that Watko’s moved to Japan, he and Pollett have had to learn to write together from a long distance. Recently, they’ve been working on a new album and played “Radio Player” for the first time live, which will be featured on the new album.

“It’s just one of those that just had to simmer for a long time before I knew how all the pieces came together,” Pollett said. They don’t have a set date for the album release, but said “Radio Player” will be out soon.

Pollett will be opening for Mini Trees on June 19. Be sure to check them out wherever you get your music.