A Brilliant Cover

In this live performance, experimental soultronica band Poliça lend their signature otherworldly electro-soul spin on Keith Sweat's 1996 R&B hit "Nobody". The original song was a duet between Sweat and Athena Cage; lead vocalist Channy Leaneagh recreates two sets of voices with her cover by alternating her vocals between a deeper, more processed, Autotuned register and a more natural-sounding one. This results in a modern-sounding recreation that easily fits into NME's list of 20 surprising indie covers of mainstream hits. 

While most of the lyrics from the original duet remain, Sweat's urban soul, new jack swing and seductive, confident charisma has been replaced by Leaneagh's hints of desperation and desolation. The effect is very much in line with what Pitchfork's Katherine St. Asaph deems to be Poliça's foremost topic: "human connection and the tolls it takes on a person". And while Leaneagh does sing the line 'Who can sex you like me?', the cover is decidedly less erotic and sensual than the original.

If Sweat worked within the tradition of elevating sexual intimacy to spiritual heights, Poliça seem intent on evocating the anomie and loneliness that result from the lack of intimacy with another human being. This artistic intent becomes even clearer at the end of the song, when Leaneagh's vocals are tinged with the dread and fear that her assertions about being irreplaceable may not be believed.