Albums to watch

Shulamith

Poliça

Shulamith

Follow-up to their much-admired debut Give You The Ghost from the Minneapolis band led by Channy Leaneagh, dealing in indie synthpop

ADM rating[?]

7.0

Label
Memphis Industries
UK Release date
21/10/2013
US Release date
22/10/2013
  1. 8.5 |   The 405

    An album that sounds completely natural and jaw-droppingly self-assured, but it will sound as fresh and vital on the 20th listen as it does on the 1st
    Read Review

  2. 8.2 |   Paste Magazine

    Despite its success, Give You The Ghost only hinted at what Poliça can do. Shulamith is a wilder, looser ride, both more experimental and more fully realized
    Read Review

  3. 8.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    Incredibly fresh and exciting, but still a reminder of what you loved so much the first time round
    Read Review

  4. 8.0 |   All Music

    Even if Shulamith isn't as strikingly original as Give You the Ghost, the growth in its songwriting and emotional complexity suggests Poliça are in it for the long haul
    Read Review

  5. 8.0 |   The Irish Times

    Another rewarding slow-burner
    Read Review

  6. 8.0 |   The Digital Fix

    An improvement on an excellent debut - that’s some achievement - and a fantastic record in its own right
    Read Review

  7. 8.0 |   Time Out

    Poliça incite debate and tackle weighty issues – and all to a pitch-perfect soundtrack that earns them the right to get heavy
    Read Review

  8. 8.0 |   DIY

    This isn’t a departure at all, but when Poliça’s trajectory has so much potential, hurtling forward is the best possible direction to take
    Read Review

  9. 8.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    Poliça are already fast approaching a mastery of creating atmospheres that are at once both powerful and delicate, with ‘Shulamith’ serving as a hugely promising statement of intent
    Read Review

  10. 8.0 |   Consequence Of Sound

    Poliça aren’t afraid to take on big themes in Shulamith
    Read Review

  11. 8.0 |   Mojo

    Intelligent pop music still has the ability to seduce and enthral. Print edition only

  12. 7.5 |   Pitchfork

    Demonstrates again Poliça’s greatest strength: making music that’s both an easy and a torturous listen
    Read Review

  13. 7.0 |   NME

    If you're looking for comparisons, try somewhere at the uncharted interface of La Roux, Robyn and Grimes. No-one has been here before
    Read Review

  14. 7.0 |   Uncut

    Sharpened the songwriting, easing off the Auto-Tun to give smoky-funk some gravitas. Print edition only

  15. 7.0 |   Slant Magazine

    Shulamith is a much more cohesive and self-assured effort
    Read Review

  16. 7.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    The attempts at sonic expansion on Shulamith move between the poles of upbeat ‘Chain My Name’ to the cloying menace of ‘Very Cruel’ but fails to create the completely immersive atmosphere of the debut
    Read Review

  17. 7.0 |   Under The Radar

    The work is consistently compelling but dense—not as sentimental or easy to swallow as Give You the Ghost
    Read Review

  18. 6.7 |   Pretty Much Amazing

    Poliça flirt with greatness often enough to make Shulamith more than worth your time, but it’s not as brave as we’d like it to be
    Read Review

  19. 6.0 |   Evening Standard

    Darkness creeps in on Very Cruel, which recalls the night terrors of modern Portishead – though some of the rest drifts by too easily
    Read Review

  20. 6.0 |   Independent on Sunday

    More of the same from Poliça – but with fewer hooks. Low-slung, dub-ish beats are appealing, though lead some tracks to Snooze Town
    Read Review

  21. 6.0 |   The Observer

    Another assured and immersive album
    Read Review

  22. 6.0 |   musicOMH

    Shulamith can still be considered a worthy addition to the band’s back catalogue, even it just doesn’t quite reach the heights of their excellent debut
    Read Review

  23. 6.0 |   Clash

    A fine sound indeed, but one that could have been better with a shade more variety injected into proceedings
    Read Review

  24. 6.0 |   The Guardian

    A beautifully melancholic record
    Read Review

  25. 6.0 |   Rolling Stone

    These kids blend distant, white-on-white melodic minimalism with early-Prince electro burp-'n-grind
    Read Review

  26. 6.0 |   Q

    An icy glitter that is seductive, but ultimately freezes you out. Print edition only

  27. 6.0 |   The Quietus

    An album which exhibits a huge amount of care and attention to detail. But it falters on a macro level, with too many songs evaporating over the ears in vaguely pleasant puffs of steam
    Read Review

  28. 5.0 |   The Fly

    At times Leaneagh’s vocodered emoting makes you wonder if this isn’t just Dido for the blognoscenti
    Read Review


blog comments powered by Disqus

Watch it

Roll over video for more options

Hear it

Latest Reviews

More reviews