CAROLINE POLACHEK Vinyl & CDs

Review: Caroline Polachek's Pang represents a dynamic evolution in her musical journey, seamlessly merging her diverse past projects into a singular artistic statement. This fifth anniversary edition comes on gold vinyl complete with poster. Formerly of Chairlift, Caroline's distinct vocal style and synth-driven sound matured over the years, culminating in this ambitious solo debut under her own name. Pang fuses the playfulness of Chairlift with the baroque and experimental influences of her side projects, Ramona Lisa and CEP, resulting in a sweeping and emotive collection. Produced primarily with Danny L Harle, the album offers symphonic textures and refined vocal techniques, revealing Caroline's classical training. Tracks like 'The Gate' and 'Ocean of Tears' showcase her signature "organic autotune" style, combining operatic precision with electronic ornamentation. Themes of love, vulnerability, and emotional surrender dominate songs like 'Caroline Shut Up' and 'So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings'. These love songs capture the raw pangs of human connection, balancing tenderness with humour. Polachek's Pang is a richly textured, genre-fluid exploration of voice and emotion, affirming her place as one of pop's most innovative figures in popular music.

Review: Desire I Want To Turn Into You is the latest career-redefining album from pin-up poptimist Caroline Polachek, swiftly moving on from the style of her prior opus Pang by treading into several completely new musical territories for the artist (albeit working with her same, favourite producers). This version of the album, along with the standard edition, comes as a unique metallic copper metal vinyl record.

Review: 2014 was a tumultuous period for Polachek as she and her band grew apart; She wanted to create an aesthetic world, make the band dress better and invest in visuals. Needless to say, the 2010s indie band Chairlift wasn't entirely on board. Polachek was creatively parched and set about a production career, producing 'Arcadia' on her laptop whilst on tour using only MIDI instruments, laptop microphone and field recordings (like on the atmospheric 'Hissing Pipes at Dawn'). This period continued with Polachek beginning to perform in small venues in New York under different names, donning a blonde fringed wig and creating an expansive, yet quaint universe that would unquestionably influence the creating of her breakout solo debut 'Pang' 5 years later. Arcadia spans from ambient medieval-esque wind sections to zany strings that conjure up gusts billowing through green pastures with blue skies overhead. 'Dominic' has stood the test of time as the most popular of the tracks, a relationship that's a 'perfect disaster'. Highlights are the organ-led 'Backwards & Upwards' on purging infatuation, stepping backwards to move upwards as Polachek puts it, and 'Lady's Got Gills' with its whistles and what may be a blend of harp, yangqin and guzheng that backs a story of a woman contained. Arcadia is lo-fi cinematic, in a sentence, and a must listen to Polachek fans.