Words by Laura Turnbull | Header Image: Zoe Prinds-Flash
For those of us that devoured Poliça‘s 2012 debut ‘Give You The Ghost‘ and fell in love with the haunting synths and mesmeric basslines, not to mention Channy Leaneagh’s spine-tingling vocals, the sounds on the band’s latest album prove to be just as bewitching. Poliça‘s ability to create tunes that groove as hard as Bernard Purdie‘s hi-hits whilst hitting you with unflinchingly introspective lyrics has not worn off. It’s the best kind of sorcery.
‘Driving‘, the new album’s lead single is, apparently, way brighter than it sounds. Leaneagh describes the track as a life-affirming offering, a call to keep going, to drive on. “Life is worth living even when all the towers are crumbling,” the singer insists. Given that the album, ‘When We Stay Alive‘, follows Leaneagh’s long and emotionally tough recovery from a spinal injury, this message feels especially weighty.
To listen to, though, ‘Driving‘ is dark. Eerie in the way that Portishead‘s dense and surreal trip-hop was and bubbling with the kind of defiant beats Warpaint might create, the track delivers a dream-scene that errs on night-terror. Poliça have returned with all the unearthly intensity we’d hoped for.
Listen to ‘Driving‘:
‘When We Stay Alive‘ is out now via Memphis Industries. Catch Poliça touring the new album this month at Thekla in Bristol and Village Underground in London.
For the band’s full tour schedule head over here: