POLIÇA - Wandering Star (Memphis Industries)

Much has been made of POLIÇA’s famous musical fans, but it does the band something of a disservice to use these people as reference points. Instead, it seems far better to point you to the beautiful but bizarre video for ‘Wandering Star’ as an elderly lady is brought back to life with the help of some Dulux paint. The choreographer for the video was Yemi A.D., a frequent collaborator with a young fellow by the name of Kanye West. His ‘808’s and Heartbreaks’ album, filled with auto-tune, despair over love and death, and R&B/pop grooves make it a more useful reference.

‘Wandering Star’ opens up with the thumping, cacophonous drum beats that are de rigueur throughout ‘Give You The Ghost’. Channy Leaneagh’s vocals echo and flicker through an auto-tuned kaleidoscope, turning them into a wistfully colourful element. ‘Wandering Star’ is as melancholic lyrics-wise as it gets, with Leaneagh writing much of the album based on her recent divorce. “I sit alone in my lonely bed, and I think about the day we had, and it makes me sad ‘cause now you’re gone.”



Despite this thick current of sadness running throughout, POLIÇA make such a beautiful, funk filled noise. The bass glides casually into the background. The drums slip into playing little fills at the end of every couple of lines which unexpectedly brings out the inner air-drummer inside. And what a strange thing it is, to find yourself air-drumming while someone sings about losing their husband. It’s a strange combination, but it’s the marriage of these elements that make POLIÇA such a vital sounding band.