Poliça – The Roundhouse, London 02/09/13

Many hype bands fall into the trap of sacrificing substance for style. They’ve got the hit single, they’ve got some fancy visuals, but the ability to sustain a forty five minute set without losing the audience’s interest eludes them. Not so Poliça. Taking their name from the Polish word for “policy”, the studious origins of their monicker reflects the work ethic in their music. On the surface they’re very much aligned with the zeitgeist, all electronically-distorted vocals and moody, glitchy synth backing tracks. But there’s depth to their repertoire that many of their peers lack.

For one thing, Channy Leaneagh (formerly of Roma di Luna and GAYNGS) doesn’t solely rely on vocoders. True, they’re used to great effect on ‘Dark Star’ and ‘Lay Out Your Cards’, but the strength of her natural voice, which falls somewhere between Dido and Zola Jesus, is allowed to come to the fore during the likes of “Chain My Name.” That the rest of the band collaborate on the songwriting also works in Polica’s favour. Chris Bierden, Drew Christopherson and Ben Ivascu aren’t mere session musicians going through the motions, but active participants in constructing the motorik rhythms and repetitive grooves that underpin Polica’s sound.

They are also an integral part of the live show. Whilst many acts of their ilk hide the musicians in the background, the two percussionists and bassist occupy as prominent a place in proceedings as Leaneagh, who, for all her talents, isn’t the most vibrant of performers. Watching Christopherson and Ivascu’s intricate drum work in action is never less than impressive, and given that all the synths are all pre-recorded, their presence avoids reducing the show to glorified karaoke. It’s not a perfect performance – there’s a couple of rather formulaic numbers, and the vocals are occasionally too muffled to discern- but on the whole it’s an impressive set from a band destined to be more than a flash in the pan.

Photograph by Sara Amroussi-Gilissen. See full gallery here.