Joan As Police Woman - The Classic

Despite her personal history and contribution to the work of artists such as Antony and the Johnsons and Rufus Wainwright, Joan Wasser, under the moniker Joan As Police Woman, has forged through four albums a fanbase built on merit and appreciation for her unique alternative sensibilities and seeming enthusiasm for variation. Her fifth album, ‘The Classic’, continues in this vein. Taking in a number of musical styles and emotional highs and lows, it’s is another hit for an oft-overlooked but important figure.

‘The Classic’ is intentionally a mixed bag, designed to cover the spectrum of Wasser’s repertoire rather than attempt to appeal to one specific style. This means that there are inevitable highs and lows, and rather than a solid trajectory it instead drifts from hits to misses wildly. For instance, the title track is an a cappella standout, but it’s followed by a seven-minute slog in the form of ‘Get Direct’. Thankfully though, even on the lesser tracks what is important is the spark of individuality and inspiration that is truly impressive considering Joan As Police Woman’s rich back catalogue.

Existing as it does in our current age of prioritising individual songs over the full album experience, ‘The Classic’ comes as such a rich treat simply because although its songs can be cherry picked and undoubtedly some hit stronger than others, listening to it in full is a unique adventure entirely because when one song fades out it’s impossible to tell what follows it will sound like. Although Wasser has perhaps sounded better in the past and too many of the songs stretch past their welcome, ‘The Classic’ is a welcome addition to Joan As Police Woman’s repertoire and a recommended addition to any album collection due to its impressive ability to surprise and innovate as it moves forward.