Poliça – Shulamith

Surrender to Poliça

Straight out of the great state that gave us the genius of The Replacements comes the R&B techno band Poliça, further proving that Minneapolis is the place to be if you want to start an awesome band. Founded in 2011 by Channy Leaneagh as a creative outlet after a bad divorce, Poliça also consists of core member Ryan Olson; the band name is a reference to the duo’s unwritten work ethic. Their first album, Give You the Ghost (2012) was a huge critical success– in an issue of Rolling Stone earlier this year, Justin Vernon called them the “Best band I’ve ever heard.” Let’s just go ahead and make it clear that Poliça’s sophomore album, Shulamith, continues this upward trend in great music creation.

Shulamith, named for the radical feminist Shulamith Firestone, is a fantastic sophomore album that gets in your head with its smooth yet energetic songs. Smacking of a more industrial Florence and the Machine, Poliça build complex sounds together into hypnotizing rhythms—there’s plenty of distortion and synth over the soulful R&B undertones of the album. It’s a great one to turn on for a relaxed night in (and that comes in handy as the nights get colder, right?). A gem on the album is “Torre.” It’s poppy enough to find an audience with anyone, but strange enough to keep you intrigued with its plethora of low-key, electric sounds. Leaneagh’s voice is gorgeous throughout the album, but on “Torre,” its slight distortion and pout make it stand out.

Shulamith is an album for anybody and it would be an excellent addition to any record collection. It’s an album that shows the solidification of a band’s sound while promising plenty of growth in the future, making the listener excited for more. Poliça is still an incredibly young band, but they’re exhibiting consistent, incredible talent. They have all the makings of a great band that we should all keep an eye and ear out for.