They released four studio albums: Long Player (1996), Hello Halo (1997), Delta City Skies (1999) and Didn't Feel a Thing (2001).

After Croft left the band in June 1993 to return home to Perth, the remaining members continued as a three-piece, with Handley, reluctantly at first, taking over lead singer and songwriting duties.

"[4] After Catherine Wheel, Croft co-wrote some tracks with Handley[2] and Greg Atkinson (Ups And Downs, Big Heavy Stuff).

Junior (featuring 'Pale Grey Eyes') reached #1 on the National Alternative Singles Chart and stayed in the Top 20 for forty one weeks until March 1996.

Jonathan Lewis of AllMusic described their early sound, "noisy indie guitar pop, reminiscent of Sugar or Happy Days-era Catherine Wheel.

"[5] In November 1995, "Lemonsuck" was released as the first single from the forthcoming debut album, again gaining high rotation on Triple J and also some airplay on commercial radio.

'Lemonsuck' reached #1 on the National Alternative Singles Chart, and stayed in the Top 20 for seventeen weeks, with the band receiving increasing nationwide attention in the media.

Recorded in eight days at Sydney's Paradise Studios with David Trump, the album received mostly positive reviews for its guitar-driven pop, with fourteen tracks, clocking in at just under one hour.

"[7] Pollyanna featured on the second episode of Recovery, recorded a Triple J Live At The Wireless set in May 1996 and were guest programmers on Rage in August 1996.

[9] Lewis rated it at four stars and explained, "[they are] able to inject a lot more variety into their guitar-driven pop songs, with 'Grover Washington', 'Truck' and 'Cows Crossing' being among the best on the album.

A heavy touring schedule ensued, including being part of the new-look 1998 Homebake Festival, which played in Melbourne, Sydney and the Gold Coast.

[1] The album had a more wide-screen sound than its predecessors and many tracks featured organ, leading to the addition of a keyboard player, Adrian Whitehead, to the touring band.

[16] Handley performed solo shows, Jasper Lee of Oz Music Project describing his set list, "a combination of new and old stuff, the acoustic versions of faves including 'Cinnamon Lip', 'Vanilla Coated Salesmen' and 'Home is Where My Heart Sank'.

[2] Pollyanna were recording as a duo where Handley played most of the parts on the album, including drums, with Stapleton contributing bass guitar.

[17] A new-look four-piece band hit the road: Stapleton had returned from the US to resume bass guitar duties alongside Handley and they were joined by Andy Strachan on drums and Adrian Whitehead on keyboards (ex-the Trims).

In 2002 Pollyanna split up, Handley later reminisced, "While on tour for Didn't Feel a Thing, Andy (our drummer) was asked to join the Living End, and our bass player Rayke was about to have a baby.