Ears Wide Open: Los Angeles Police Department

Seraphina Lotkhamnga on November 18th, 2013

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It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Warm Weather, but Ryan Pollie, who makes up one-third of the indie-pop band, has been making music on his own. Recorded in Pollie’s West Hollywood house, he releases this solo material under the moniker Los Angeles Police Department. Yes, it’s tough to Google, but it’s safe to assume Pollie’s music doesn’t actually sound like anything the LAPD band or L.A.P.D. would play. (And who knows whether he’ll be able to keep the name – from Chicago Transit Authority, who became Chicago, to the Postal Service, to which the USPS took offense, there’s a long history of public agencies getting squeamish when their names are appropriated.) Anyway, unlike the delicate harmonies sung by Warm Weather, Los Angeles Police Department is a bit more on the wonky side with its garage rock foundation and psych-pop melodies that dance around in its lo-fi freedom. It’s not unruly enough for Pollie’s moniker to sound ironic, but songs such as “The Only One” and “Enough Is Enough” do have a slacker charm to it before the vocals get a little rowdy.

||| Download: “Enough Is Enough” and “The Only One”