In 2022, at a performance late in Poliça’s tour, singer and synth player Channy Leaneagh felt a wave of gratitude. For years, she had felt angst about being on the road, putting on show after show. But suddenly, as she looked around at her bandmates, she realized “this could be our last show,” she said. “Just enjoy it. Enjoy every bit of it.”
That feeling of embrace runs through Poliça’s latest album, “Dreams Go,” set for release on October 17. Melding Leaneagh’s ethereal, impassioned vocals with textured rhythms and a grounding bass heartbeat, the songs reflect on the precarity of relationships and the preciousness of dreams.
It turns out Leaneagh’s epiphany had more urgency than she realized. Not long afterward, bassist Chris Bierden was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer. Six of the eight songs on “Dreams Go” were recorded in the months following Bierden’s diagnosis, including a four-day session at the legendary Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls.
“We knew that it was probably Chris’s last time recording with us,” Leaneagh said. “We were all together and sort of watching Chris dramatically change, but we wanted to have a solid time together.”
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Pachyderm, famous for being the studio where Nirvana recorded “In Utero,” sits deep in an old-growth forest, alongside a creek. Its main appeal, though, was its proximity to the Twin Cities, for Bierdan’s sake. “We needed a place that was close enough if we needed to get back home,” Leaneagh said.
Still, the sessions felt celebratory, punctuated with visits from friends and collaborators. Drummer Drew Christopherson said Bierdan “could tell, and we could tell, that his ability to play was kind of beginning to struggle, but he was still definitely able to shred.”
The band’s first thought was not to make an album, but simply to make music together. “We improvised 20 or 25 ideas, and then decided to just pause and figure out what the future looks like,” Christopherson said. Later, an album felt like the right direction, using material from the Pachyderm sessions plus two songs recorded earlier.
As Poliça prepares to tour, Bierden’s recorded bass lines will be woven into performances by new band member Alex Nutter. Due to his cancer, Bierden is no longer able to perform. Nutter also helped in the mixing of the album, along with co-founder and producer (and Leaneagh’s husband) Ryan Olson. Hippo Campus’ Jake Luppen contributed production drawn from his indie pop sensibilities, especially on the song “Revival.”
Olson’s sound mixing often acts as a parallel narrative in the songs, shaping and responding to Leaneagh’s lyrics. In “She Knows Me,” dramatic electronic bursts surround Leaneagh’s wistful vocals and guitar. When she sings, “I never asked him where he’s been,” spastic string sounds interject her melody, almost as if in response.
“It’s kind of simple,” Leaneagh said. “That’s where he’s been. He’s been making weird noises.”
Olson’s idiosyncratic additions are part of what makes the band’s sound unique, Christopherson said. “Poliça has the opportunity to make somewhat pop-y, partly accessible music, but then throw in these weird drum parts and weird breakdowns.”
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Besides the six songs recorded at Pachyderm, the album features two songs recorded much earlier. Title track “Dreams Go” was first laid down at a Texas studio in 2015. “Finally, during this record making, we stumbled on the magic sauce,” Christopherson said.
Throughout, “Dreams Go” carries the awareness of life’s fragility. Born of collaboration, improvisation and the looming reality of Bierden’s illness, the album is a meditation on cherishing the fleeting, delicate moments of music, friendship and creativity.
Poliça will play an album release show at Electric Fetus on Thursday, October 16, at 7 p.m., 2000 4th Ave. S., Minneapolis. One ticket available per album pre-order ($12-$32). They’ll also perform a sold-out show at Icehouse on Saturday, October 25 at 8 p.m.
The post Amid grief, Minneapolis rockers Poliça set to release new album grounded in gratitude appeared first on MinnPost.
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