Album Review: Poliça - Give You The Ghost

Minneapolis' Poliça have delivered a poignant debut that taps into the dark psyche of lead singer Channy Leanagh, following the end of her marriage.

Produced by Ryan Olsen, the electronic soundscapes on this record are astounding and in a world of their own, from the plucking electronics of Wandering Star to the rhythmic build up and vocal layering of Lay Your Cards Out. With two drummers in the band's ranks, the record is predominantly driven by heady rhythms, which contributes to much of the trip hop essence and the marvelous percussive trickery scattered throughout the record.

Each song unravels an emotional wound of the past. The jittery bassline of I See My Mother, coupled with Leanagh's silky auto-tuned vocals, speaks of such grief-stricken stories – “Oh what a web I have woven myself in / I'm always chasing after somebody else / All by myself”. Harsher, more mind-frenzying moments are heard in Violent Games, which sees a Western-style duel between roughly-edged synths and soaring sirens before the song erupts into a drumming frenzy.

The Poliça sound captures the eeriness of early-Portishead, yet their loosely structured percussion – as evidenced in the outro of Fist Teeth Money where the beat in on the verge of falling apart but is held together by a thin thread – is reminiscent of unstructured jazz styles.

The Australian and New Zealand release of Give You The Ghost comes with five bonus remix tracks, most of which the record could do without, except for Amongster (Exitmusic Remix) and Lay Your Cards Out (Alluxe Remix). These two remixes work with the strengths of Poliça.