Madness

When the COVID-19 global pandemic cut short Policas tour in support of their 2020 album When We Stay Alive, the band got back into the studio as soon as possible. Channy Leaneagh, Ryan Olson, and company created Madness as a companion piece to their previous album, and it soon becomes apparent that Polica are in a similar headspace. As on When We Stay Alive, the feeling that theyre reconnecting with themselves and why they make music drives the record. On "Alive," the glitchy yet sweeping album opener, they heighten the tension underlying all of their music with murky synth strings that intensify the drama and set it to a four-on-the-floor pulse that adds momentum to the mood. At just over 30 minutes long, Madness is one of the leanest full-lengths in Policas discography, but they make the time to experiment. Part of the bands creative process included "AllOvers(c)," an anthropomorphic production tool that Olson created with producer/sound artist Seth Rosetter, and while its use isnt obvious, the richly layered electronic textures on songs such as the sci-fi torch song "Violence" are immediately striking. Polica also play with distance and closeness skillfully on Madness. They draw listeners near with "Away," offering a rare glimpse of Leaneaghs unadorned voice that brings the yearning suffusing their body of work into crystalline focus, then turn inward on "Fountain," which presents just enough fragments -- somberly looping piano and bass, chirping birds -- to complete the haunting mood. This feeling of movement peaks on "Sweet Memz," which shifts from charging brass to a dark, dubby expanse before setting Leaneaghs vocals free on an a cappella breakdown. Here and on Madness as a whole, Polica were evolving even when the world seemed to come to a standstill. ~ Heather Phares

ボン・イヴェールことジャスティン・ヴァーノンも絶賛する米ミネアポリスの4人組インディー・バンド。ゴー・チームなどを輩出したメンフィス・インダストリーズで2枚目のアルバムとなる通算5作目は、彼らの良さである実験的なサウンドを保ちつつ、これまでとは少し違った気怠くメランコリーなムードを持つ。色気を増したシンガー、チャンニーのウィスパー・ヴォイスも最高で、まさに〈眠れない夜に聴きたい一枚〉ですね。
bounce (C)赤瀧洋二