Poliça's Slinky Synthpop Continues To Spread On 'Shulamith'

By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on Dec 3, 2013 10:30PM

Photo by Cameron Wittig

Poliça may hail from Minneapolis but their sounds are plucked from another world. Minnesota winters tend to be more severe than Chicago's so perhaps this group of musicians have finely honed their sound after being stuck indoors so long. That might also explain the icy majesty that builds many of the beats on their sophomore effort, Shulamith. The songs in this collection are polished to a crystalline perfection that proves itself a perfectly smooth complement to singer Channy Leaneagh's vocals as they slip and slide across each track.

While the band expands in a live setting, Shulamith was primarily written by Poliça's two principals, Leaneagh and producer Ryan Olson. Much of it was constructed back and forth digitally while Leaneagh was on tour with the live version of Poliça. To return to our earlier analogy that helps explain why the isolationist feel of the music contrasts so sharply with the warm vocals as they melt through your headphones.

We'll be honest here, while the band's name translates to mean "policy" we could care less what the band's position is on anything. Since it seems secondary to their mission to create songs that bubble forth with vocals that pulse with a largely improvisatory quality that contributes to their beautiful abstraction.

The live version of Poliça—featuring Leaneagh alongside bassist Chris Bierden and drummers Ben Ivascu and Drew Christopherson—plays this Thursday, Dec. 5 at Metro. Tickets are still available.