“The harmony in this song spirals like Fibonacci’s sequence, winding its magical turns. Emotional and sensual, like the universe in the flower of an autumn aster,” says Denys Levchenko, Polyvoda’s bassist.
Polyvoda was formed in Kyiv in 2022 by keyboardist Kirill Chikhradze and bassist Denis Levchenko, who had previously played together in different bands. They released two songs last fall in this lineup — “Never Ending” and “Sirens.” Later, they were joined by Mikhail Birchenko, who is known to many as the leader and drummer of the trio Hyphen Dash. In addition, all of Polyvoda’s songs feature female vocals, and the band’s description on Spotify reads that its members “transcend borders by partnering with international voices to articulate their shared experience.” However, the identity of the singer and rapper remains a mystery.
The band released their first single after almost a year-long hiatus, with a new lineup on November 10. It was the song “Bonfire” — an energetic banger with a mixture of hip-hop, neo-soul, and funk, which has already received much positive feedback from the Western music press. Polyvoda’s latest work, “Homeless,” adds new, darker colors to the emotional and genre palette of the band’s sound.
After a minimalistic beginning that promises a leisurely elegiac journey through poetic tropes and almost turns into spoken word, the composition explodes with a stormy drum solo and disturbing keyboard chords, acquiring a radically different degree of drama, which only intensifies during the track. However, the energy here is not accumulated to lead the listener to an explosive hooky chorus, as is usually done in pop music. On the contrary, it does not find a way out until the very end, when it turns into either a full stop or a meaningful comma in the electrified air that the track leaves behind, making you listen to it repeatedly.
The other trio members add that this song is about the balance between despair and hope, the struggle between the desire for material wealth and spiritual growth. “It’s about the choice between the comfort of a fireplace at home and a journey through an unfamiliar mountainous terrain in the fog, wet and bewildered but filled with hope that beyond the next slope, you’ll find what you are set out for.”
At the time of the release, Polyvoda’s plans are unknown, but everything tells us that we will hear their music more than once over the next year. So, let’s keep an eye out.
Polyvoda’s single “Homeless” is available to stream and download at the link below:
https://orcd.co/polyvoda_homeless
Polyvoda on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vodapoly
