Multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Joan As Police Woman today shares “Back Again”. The second single from her forthcoming new album Lemons, Limes & Orchids.
“Back Again” sees Joan As Police Woman campaigning and pleading for the reconciliation of a dissolved romantic relationship. Inspired by the works of Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye, “Back Again” effectively weaves together an eclectic mix of soul, funk, pop and progressive rock.
The track’s beauty is brought to life by lyrically juxtaposing the mourning of the break-up over a sprightly and groove-inspired sonic bed. Speaking on the track’s origins and inspiration Joan As Police Woman said:
“Songs come through me like diary entries. This entry fuses the optimism of a pop song with the words of a ballad, just like many of the great Motown songs did. What better angle to persuade someone to return?”
Accompanying Joan on the track is the legendary and GRAMMY-Award winning Meshell Ndegeocello on bass, Chris Bruce (Seal, Trevor Horn, Alanis Morisette) on guitar, Parker Kindred (Jeff Buckley, Liam Gallagher) on drums and Thomas Bartlett (Norah Jones, Yoko Ono, Taylor Swift) whose 70s inspired synth pads and string inflections summon a bespoke essence harkening back to Sister Sledge and Electric Sound Orchestra.
“Back Again” follows the release of last month’s “Long For Ruin”; the sobering and scintillating hybrid of indie rock and alternative soul. The track found Joan As Police Woman questioning and reflecting on the sorrowful state of the world and the role humans play as active agents in its ongoing decay and devastation. Upon its release, the track garnered acclaim from Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan, mxdwn and more.
On September 20th, Joan As Police Woman will be releasing her 10th studio album Lemons, Limes & Orchids via Play It Again Sam (PIAS). At its core, the new album is a record about love and loss. Beyond that, it is ultimately a body of work that functions as a nocturne for the expansion of time. A tribute to holding on with a supreme focus on audibly reckoning with our collective collapse and disorientation. It’s about how love leaves us breathless from joy and from sorrow.
A crowning showcase of Joan’s artistry in all its metamorphic splendor, the new album sees Joan venture deeper into her jazz influences with further affectations associated with electronic and ambient music.
Lemons, Limes & Orchids will mark Joan As Police Woman’s first project since the 2021 release of The Solution Is Restless; the sprawling collaborative album made with the late Afrobeat pioneer Tony Allen and multi-disciplinary artist Dave Okumu. Sonically spanning afrobeat, jazz, trip-hop, pop-rock and funk, upon its release the album garnered rapturous critical acclaim from The Guardian, NPR, NME, Stereogum, The Line Of Best Fit, CLASH and Rolling Stone Australia. Eventually parlaying into more plaudits from Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and an invitation to play All Points East Festival with Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.
Over the course of Joan’s illustrious 3-decade career, she’s made more than considerable strides building her pedigree as a live act. Performing with and alongside luminaries like Lou Reed, Rufus Wainwright, Damon Albarn, John Cale, Laurie Anderson, Sufjan Stevens, Anohni, Beck, Toshi Reagon and most notably the late Jeff Buckley, who she has affectionately referred to as her soulmate. When not touring and recording, Joan also teaches at NYU’s prestigious Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music.
Earlier this year, Joan joined Iggy Pop’s touring band as a keyboardist and background vocalist. In October she’ll be embarking on her own European headline tour.
Thoughts Words Action 