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Mar 17, 2016 Web Exclusive By Will Moss

POLIÇA has never been one to paint pop music by numbers, and United Crushers is no exception. The follow-up to 2013’s critically acclaimed Shulamith, it continues along its predecessor’s path into the darkest electronic recesses of Channy Leaneagh’s psyche. It oozes purpose and intent, a protest against all the shit of the world that is inescapable in our modern day lives. This comes in the form of the pitch-bending vocal distortions of opener “Summer Please” and the aggressive, grating production of “Top Coat,” to name but two of the album’s most unsettling moments.

It’s not all doom and gloom, however, as occasionally Leaneagh drops her guard and her voice is at its lightest and most beautiful. “Lately” and “Someway” serve as these moments of reflection where her vocals contemplate what motherhood means in the face of worldwide unrest. While POLIÇA do sound at their most anguished on this record, there is a distinct sense that United Crushers is a cathartic exercise. It may not be as immediate as some of their earlier material, but it was a necessary endeavour for a band trying to make sense of the maelstrom of the modern world. (www.thisispolica.com)

Author rating: 7/10