Tuesday 16 October 2012

Polica - Give You The Ghost

This blog's stated aim was to help me appreciate my recent musical purchases more fully and, hopefully, find something that would stay with me in the long term. I think in Give You The Ghost I might have got my first real success.

I think I first heard it on The Guardian's Website.. The first thing that strikes you is the singers' use of auto-tuning. Obviously, auto tuning has developed a reputation for being used in situations where, shall we say,  the singers voice might not be quite up to the job. It's also become so ubiquitous in some musical genres (I'm looking at you R&B) that I think we forget how unique it sounded in Cher's Believe . However Polica have managed to use it in really striking and affecting ways. In fact it's so striking that I think initially it distracted me from the album's other merits, particularly some great drumming and bass playing.

Also the auto tuning tends to make discerning the lyrics a little complex which is a pity since, although not exactly narrative, they are very evocative and match the music really well. It's a shame lyrics can't be automatically download with the album (at least not on  my player) and then get them to scroll across the players' screen. Having said that I made the effort to go to the band's website where I was able to read the lyrics as I listened, thus reducing any Me Ears Are Alight mis hearing.  Overall the album, lyrically and musically, sounds like some sort of auto tuned Goth/Reggae hybrid. Which is alright by me!