Music for the Long Emergency

Chronique

Poliça began working on Music for the Long Emergency just before the release of 2016's politically charged United Crushers, and they give the issues they explored on that album extra depth and heft with the help of Berlin's orchestral collective s t a r g a z e. The band couldn't have chosen better collaborators: s t a r g a z e have loaned their skill at bridging the worlds of orchestral, electronic, and indie music to a who's who of artists including Shara Worden, Owen Pallett, and the National's Bryce Dessner. It's no surprise, then, that Music for the Long Emergency feels well considered; it doesn't sound like strings grafted onto Poliça songs, nor are Channy Leaneagh and Ryan Olson's voices, synths, and beats overwhelmed by dense arrangements. Instead, the groups arrive at a blend that's harmonious -- or, when necessary, dissonant. "Speaking of Ghost" conveys its anguish with a climax of atonal brass and strings; on "Marrow," it feels like Poliça and s t a r g a z e are daring each other to go farther -- and louder -- as their sounds collide. Sometimes the daring goes too far, as on "Cursed," a glitchy, slightly awkward track featuring Minnesota rapper Crescent Moon. Leaneagh's intimate voice and lyrics remain Poliça's greatest strengths, and Music for the Long Emergency is at its best when they're the focus, as on the gorgeous opening track "Fake Like" and "Agree," a poignant expression of boundary issues ("Being good to you/While losing me"). While Leaneagh's songwriting may be more abstract than the typical protest song, she connects the dots between personal emergencies and political ones on Music for the Long Emergency. Written immediately after the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the ten-minute "How Is This Happening" moves from the dawning horror telegraphed by its curdled flutes and strings and funereal trumpets to resolve when Leaneagh sings "We've got a lot of work to do." Similarly, the title track teeters between ominous and hopeful like the fine line between a crisis and an opportunity. Even if it's not always as coherent as Poliça and s t a r g a z e's own albums, Music for the Long Emergency's experiments balance ambition and emotion in admirable ways.
© Heather Phares /TiVo