Polica | Photo by Doug Interrante for WXPN

Polica reclaims Union Transfer with its new United Crushers

April 26, 2016

06:04 PM

Polica | Photo by Doug Interrante for WXPN

I’ll never forget my first time…the 2012 Non-COMMvention. Non-COMM is the annual gathering of non-commercial triple-A stations, held every may at World Cafe Live. From the first row, my eyes immediately locked on a seductive, yet graceful Channy Leaneagh. It was a new sound, a new experience, and I was hooked from the start.

The band Leaneagh fronts – Minneapolis electronic rock outfit Polica – took the stage on Monday night to a rolling bass that reverberated throughout Union Transfer. As the building shook, the mood for their signature interplay between drums and bass began to pull the audience deeper into their sound – much like my first time experiencing them. In support of their third album, United Crushers, Leaneagh opened the set with the album’s first three tracks in sequential order. “Summer Please,” “Lime Habit.” and “Someway” all showcase the bands wonderful maturation through richer, more textured sounds – very much a departure from the rawness that was their first album, Give Up the Ghost, in 2012.

Leaneagh showed love for the city, explaining that Polica was the first band to ever take the Union Transfer stage back in 2011 when it supported for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah on opening night. “We were the first to play in this beautiful venue, I tell people on streets of Philly all the time” she joked. As the show progressed, the band began to mix in some older tracks to truly show off the complexity of their sound. “Tiff,” “Dark Star,” and “Happy Be Fine” all took the audience to that otherworldly place when honest emotion is paired with rhythmic beats.

The momentum peaked three-quarters of the way through the show for the bass heavy tune, “Berlin,” when drummers Ben Ivascu and Drew Christopherson worked their synchronized chaos to perfection. The band encored to a very satisfied crowd with “Baby Sucks” and ending with its 2012 staple “Amongster.”

Check out photos from the show in the gallery below.