Call it brutal honesty or extreme end-of-tour fatigue, but Channy Leaneagh's recent admission to The Ticket that Poliça's music is "not the music that moves me most" sounded like a death knell for the band. Even if Shulamith is a parting gift from the Minneapolis five-piece, their 18-month, two-album cycle has been a fruitful one. Leaneagh's detached delivery – her voice is airy and fluid yet unremarkable – acts as a deft sleight of hand. Scratch the clinically dark surface of these slick electropop and r'n'b nuggets and uncover emotion and candour in spades. Smug oozes with love's uncertainties, Tiff (featuring Justin Vernon on backing vocals) is a cutting soul-searcher, and I Need $ makes a defiant statement on self-empowerment. Shulamith is another rewarding slow-burner. thisispolica.com
Download: Chain My Name, Smug, Tiff