Music – Jeff Hemmings: Poliça and the downfall of music

Fronted by Channy Leaneagh, and featuring dual drumming and a bassist, Poliça are underpinned by the music of unseen member, and partner of Leaneagh, Ryan Olson, who is also the man behind the large ensemble Gayngs.

Released earlier this year ‘United Crushers’ is the third album by Poliça, a muscular electronica meets percussive alt-rock work that is both political and personal. “Minneapolis is a very industrial town,” says Leaneagh, “there’s lots of grain silos and old factories, and ‘United Crushers’ is tagged on a lot of them. It’s kind of a homage to them and a homage to our city. They are anti-establishment, as most graffiti crews are, I guess.”

Electronica meets percussive alt-rock

Although there has always been a political streak in Poliça, this has been heightened by the recent birth of her second child. “The record is not completely political. The way I write is very personal. I’m speaking out from my soul and it’s coming from a place of folk music. I was a folk singer at first; I was into a lot of American traditional music, gospel and modern folk like Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan, and I played the fiddle in lots of bluegrass bands, on street corners… And so I mostly have these heartbreak songs, but overall I’m now writing about the human condition and I think that does get amped up when you’re a parent and you’re bringing a child into this world.”

Never imagining she would be in a ‘rock’ band, Leaneagh says: “The thing that set in motion was being asked to sing in Gayngs, Ryan’s band, which is how we got to know each other. And I bought my first computer in 2011. I was looking for ways to write songs at night when my daughter was sleeping, and I could wear headphones, sing softly into the mic and build songs on Garage Band. And that’s when I started getting away from writing songs on the guitar. So, the downfall of music!”

Concorde 2, Sun 23 Oct, 7.30pm, £15