POLIÇA & s t a r g a z e - “Music For The Long Emergency”

Poliça is a Synth Pop band that from their beginnings I really wanted to be into.  I really loved the looming atmospheres on their debut album "Give You The Ghost".  Not to mention, the intense performances on "Lay Your Cards Out" and "Violent Games" was seriously refreshing to hear for the genre. But a lot of the rest of this album, while it was immaculately produced, was a little too spacey for me.  Not to mention, the songwriting more often than not was sadly lacking.   However, in 2013 Poliça returned with "Shulamith", an album that was basically everything I wanted to hear from the band.  I loved the sheer mystery of this album, tracks like "Warrior Lord" just seemed to have so much going on.  These were dark tunes for some dark times, but they were certainly always beautiful underneath.  Not to mention, that track they did with Bon Iver's Justin Vernon was seriously classy.  But 2016's "United Crushers' showed that Poliça weren't as on to something as I had hoped.  This album was just so bland, filled with production you know they absolutely thought was revolutionary.  But it wasn't nothing about this album was anything more than just sort of alright.  So Poliça is back, in a bizarre twist alongside music ensemble s t a r g a z e, which actually sounds totally legit on paper.  But, I have to admit from this opening single I feel a little underwhelmed.

    This album starts off with “Fake Like”, and it’s very quaint Indie Pop intro with no Synths in sight.  To be honest, there’s really not a whole lot going on here.  I think s t a r g a z e’s very subtle instrumentation is quite pleasant.  But it may just be me, but I feel like Channy Leaneagh’s performance is seriously not big enough to carry this track.  I was expecting some very large, beautiful instrumentals that swept me away.  But right about now, I’m clambering to hear the Synth Pop of POLIÇA’s past.  The instrumentals pick up nicely for the chorus and all and actually bring in some very lush moments.  But they completely overshadow Channy, the mixing on this track is a joke.  “Fake Like” is a mess, and honestly sounds more like a Demo than anything, an incomplete thought.  My initial feelings on this is that both of these artists are gaining nothing from this.  Now, at the very least, the tension at the beginning of “Marrow” actually gets me on the edge of my seat.  As a whole, this track represents exactly what I was expecting to hear from this project.  Channy sounds so much harsher and charged with energy, just as much as the instrumentals.  There are noticeably so many more synths on this one, and I love the broken down futuristic feel.  I feel like “Marrow” is just a great sound for both of these acts, I even love the heavy effects on Channy’s vocals.  It’s intense and strangely dark, and just seriously entertaining.  Not to mention, it’s incredibly epic, and really shows what s t a r g a z e can accomplish.  On the other hand, I do enjoy the fluttering instrumentals of “Speaking of Ghost”, and even the very patient, thumping instrumentals that follow closely after.  But so much of this track is incredibly awkward.  The stop and go vibe that they’re going for is all over the place, and sadly I continue to think that Channy really can’t handle herself in this much more immersive atmosphere.  And as “Speaking of Ghost” rolls on and the production gets sloppy again, I really feel like this album is just a little too raw.  This could have been a seriously elegant and beautiful recording, but this sounds so rushed.  There are some serious moments of brilliance, like that one lone horn towards the end, and just how sweeping this one gets occasionally.  But for me, this one doesn’t work.  I do, however, actually really sort of enjoy the uneasy feeling behind “Agree”, and the mysterious, elegant melodies that follow.  It’s got some dark undertones, and while I have to be honest I still do wish POLIÇA added some more synths here and there, this track is pleasant.  Channy at the very least here can handle herself in this very blissful atmosphere.  Now, I do enjoy “Agree” a lot.  But I do have to point out that there’s nothing about this track that comes off as a collaboration, especially not between POLIÇA and s t a r g a z e.  On the contrary, if this is supposed to define the sound of these two together, it’s certainly missed the mark.  But still, I do enjoy this track a bunch, especially some of those string passages.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8adak89iQw

    These two clearly still have a few surprises, however, as “Cursed” brings in a good deal of mystery, especially from this prolonged intro featuring a whole lot of very subtle synths.  This actually harkens back tot he earlier, the dystopian feel of this album  But as this track rolls on it actually gets a whole lot wilder and more intense.  The vocals are so much more abrasive and wild, and the beat (which is so much more synthetic) sounds like a damn Nine Inch Nails beat.  On top of that, we have these incredibly lush strings that make everything come off so tense and tight.  “Curse” is a seriously great sound.  This doesn’t sound like the cutting room floor, this is actually a well thought out idea.  Where’s the rest of these thoughts?  I do have to say though, when I saw the last two tracks here are near 10-minutes a piece, I was worried.  Now, I do really like the grim, mysterious vibe that “How Is This Happening” brings in.  Channy’s performance, however, is just sort of OK.  I do like just how alone she sounds.  Hell, she sounds like she’s practically floating out in space, I mean she sounds ALONE.  But I feel like they should have really taken more advantage of that made this a much more intense performance.  Because this one starts out really dark and compelling, but it seriously falls apart.  Channy’s performance is OK and all, but not nearly enough to carry this one for 10 minutes.  And then this just sort of fizzle out for 5 minutes to become a sound collage of sorts.  Which, honestly sounds just fine on paper.  But neither one of these artists pushes their ideas too far.  By the end of “How Is This Happening”, sadly I’m just bored.  How is this Happening?  More like, who thought this was a good idea?  And to be frank, “Music for the Long Emergency" really isn’t that much better.  Once again, the intro is very mysterious and enjoyable.  But I have no idea why these two artists think they can handle 10-minute songs all of a sudden.  Let’s be real, this finale is a whole lot better than the last tune, at the very least there is an epic feel to this track.  But between POLIÇA and s t a r g a z e, they sound like they’re on completely different pages.  s t a r g a z e seems to be more on point with this one, creating this very sweeping, beautiful instrumental.  And Channy’s performance isn’t the absolute worst thing I’ve heard all year.  But I seriously feel like there’s no continuity with this one.  There’s no pay off to all of these incredibly grand instrumentals.  And while there are seemingly endless, and I mean ENDLESS moments here where I get the chills for a second or two, I feel like as a whole this one is just a tease for what this album could have been.

Rating:  6.6/10

Give A Listen To: "Marrow", "Agree", "Cursed", that's about it

Genre: Dystopian- Indie Pop

Overall Thoughts:  This album could have been something very special, and a serious revitalization to  POLIÇA's music.  There are seemingly endless moments on here that these two artists are really great and creating very dense atmospheres, filled with very dark and futuristic vibes.  But there are just as many moments on this one that just get on my nerves.  The production is an absolute mess, with the mixing on a half of these tracks coming off as demo quality.  But I feel like the biggest flaw of this album is just how rushed it all sounds.  There are moments, literally seconds here and there that these two artists seem on the same page.  But way too many of these tracks come off unfocused, starting strong and falling apart moments later.  Too much of this album just seems on the cutting room floor still, and not nearly the rejuvenating performance I would have hoped.