Being hailed by Bon Iver as the best band of all time is a tremendous honor. In the case of Poliça, it is entirely justified – after all, the American indie rock band has been shaking up the scene for nearly 15 years.
Poliça was founded by vocalist Channy Leaneagh and producer Ryan Olson, who already knew each other from the Minneapolis underground scene and their collaboration in the supergroup project Gayngs. They brought bassist Chris Bierden and drummers Drew Christopherson and Ben Ivascu on board for Poliça – a unique lineup that stood out from the very beginning.
With their 2012 debut album “Give You The Ghost”, they crafted a distinctive sound blending electronic music, indie rock, R&B, and goth-pop. It was defined by a musical interplay between warmth and detachment, dark synthesizers, pulsating rhythms, and Leaneagh’s unmistakable voice. Through subsequent albums – “Shulamith” (2013), “United Crushers” (2016), “Music for the Long Emergency” (2018), “When We Stay Alive” (2020), and “Madness” (2022) – they repeatedly demonstrated their talent and capacity for evolution, achieving ever-greater success along the way.
Their seventh album, “Dreams Go” is perhaps their most personal and emotional work to date; it was created after bassist Chris Bierden was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. The eight songs offer a poignant exploration of loss, resilience, and the fragile beauty of life – an attempt to preserve a moment in time while the band navigated a monumental shift.
Although *Dreams Go* emerged from a place of sorrow, the album is vibrant and warm, proving once again how pain can be transformed into art. And even though Chris Bierden can no longer perform live, Poliça will be touring with this special album: they are returning to European stages with Alex Nutter on bass. They will be playing at Berlin’s Peter Edel venue – promising to be a truly special evening.
