You first walk into Strand to a dimly lit stage, distorted singing, and guys bobbing their head around. No eye contact with the audience; these guys are in their own little world. It’s nice to see artists losing themselves, but it’s also a bit creepy.

They’ve got some techy distortions going on over the robotic vocals and you can’t really decipher any lyrics because it seems a bit over-worked. The future-like vocals are clouded by layers of deep drums and eerie effects. I look around wondering if I’ve come to the right gig.

I’ll admit – I didn’t come to see Marijuana Deathsquad. I’ve never heard their style or sound. I guess I assumed since one of the drummers plays for both them and Poliça it would be similar. But this reminded me of a more electronic metal sound.

The crowd is not really responding but to be fair the music isn’t really the kind you move or sway too. One of their best assets is the usage of interesting sound works but because of the loud echoing and overworked vocal sounds no one can really tell. But then I thought, is this the point? The band seems to be testing the boundaries of just plain noise… that might be the goal all in all. Nevertheless, there are certain kind of people that can really find themselves a part of that creative world. Not for me.

But, Poliça was a completely different experience. As soon as Channy started singing, it was a memorizing performance. Her voice, resembling something of a lullaby to a crazy intergalactic electric dream, can be deemed under the “eye closing” category. Meaning, you literally can feel the music and atmosphere through your body when you close your eyes.

Channy was the only one who addressed the crowd. She’s a bit quirky and the exact type you would expect from a band like this. But her voice is booming. It’s intricacies and graceful tone carries the bands sound to higher levels.  The instrument use was pretty spot on. The bassist was the only other front focal point besides Channy and he did a great overall performance. The drummers, although a bit in the shadows, also came to the forefront with talent.

The show also got better as it progressed. The beginning wasn’t as captivating as the end but once they got it – they got it. The only real disappointment was a show without Dark Star (due to technical difficulties), but that’s just being nit picky. Chain My Name and Lay Your Cards Out made up for its absence. Overall Poliça showed talent, richness and uniqueness; all things that make for an interesting show!

Words by Angela Markovic