Polica Showcase New Material at Intimate Brooklyn Show [Photos]

Photos by Matthew Solarski

Emerging from a fertile Minneapolis electronic scene, Poliça arrived a few years back with a distinct, fully-formed sound: anxious rhythms tapped out by two drummers and a bassist, eerie, subtle synth tones and the arresting vocals of Channy Leaneagh, treated just enough to join the synthetic sonic fabric but still flush with an undeniably human emotion. It’s a winning formula and, wisely, they’ve stuck to it across two excellent albums, 2012’s Give You The Ghost and 2013’s Shulamith.

Anyone wary of curveballs can rest easy: the new tracks from United Crushers (out this Friday on Mom + Pop/Memphis Industries) don’t mess with the recipe — indeed, they improve upon it. At Rough Trade Friday night, “Wedding” teemed with tension before exploding with a teeth-gritting chorus, while “Berlin” evoked the darker, more mysterious corners of the titular city. Old favorites “Wandering Star”, “Tiff” and “Amongster” were slotted in perfectly and kept the crowd suitably amped.

For a band with such a sophisticated sound, Poliça tour with the relentlessness of a shaggy punk act — as it stands they have dates stretching all the way into November.