Niccijade Reeves-Alhark
Staff Reporter
Caroline Elizabeth Polacheck was born on June 20th, 1985. She is a classically trained singer-songwriter from New York who was inspired and influenced by Enya, an Irish singer-songwriter, throughout her childhood, she says in an interview she did with Interview Magazine.
Polachek’s music career started at the forming of the music duo Chairlift in 2005. She, Aaron Pfenning, and Wimberly worked together to produce their first album, Does You Inspire You. Chairlift instantaneously got their big break from the album with the song Bruises, which became one of their most popular songs. This set the band into the late 2000’s indie-pop scene, according to DIY Magazine. After this, they continued to release singles and albums with their growing fandom behind them. Between the albums and singles, Polachek released her own music under the name of Ramona Lisa. In the spring of 2017, the band announced its disbandment due to Patrick moving on to producing records and Polachek working on her solo career.
Polachek released her first single under her real name in 2013. The single was called In the Crew of Tea Time and she collaborated with Sebastian Tellier for the song and with Mr. Dan on a different version of it; both versions were released as a two-song EP. After her solo debut, Polachek proceeded to release more singles and 2 track EPs. In 2019, she released her first album, Pang, which consists of 14 tracks. In the LP, Polachek goes over the expression of apathy, infatuation, love, and loneliness. The tracks go from hyper synths to voice-isolating ballads expressing her emotions and struggles.
Pang has to be one of my most favorite albums, alongside IGOR and Wings, because of the diversity in sound and concepts. Picking a favorite song from this album is hard because all of them blend so well together as a whole piece, but if I had to choose my top two, they would be Ocean of Tears and So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings. I picked these two songs because I think they both accurately represent the spectrum of Pang. Ocean of Tears is seemingly about building or not having the guts to start a relationship with someone, my favorite thing about this song is the chorus, where Polacheck vocalizes in a haunting note after singing the lyrics “The only thing separating me and me tonight is an ocean of tears “After watching the music video for the song, her vocalizing reminds me of a siren, something that would probably reside in something as fictional as an ocean of tears. Another thing I love about this song is the instrumental and how it adds to the intensity of her voice, like the guitar that appears in the second melody of the chorus. I have already talked about So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings in the Valentine’s C-Spread and how much I relate to the meaning of it, but I also really like how Jenna Mahale from DIY Magazine described it as “a boisterous, synth-charged ode to longing.”
Caroline Polacheck is not someone the average joe comes across on a daily basis, she is extremely creative with her production and unique voice. I definitely suggest listening to Pang and her other works. Polachek is another good example of people who expressively put their emotions into their music for the world to hear and enjoy.
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