Polish Girl
| "Polish Girl" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Neon Indian | ||||
| from the album Era Extraña | ||||
| Released | August 3, 2011 | |||
| Recorded | Winter 2010–2011 | |||
| Studio | Kalevankatu 45, Helsinki | |||
| Genre | Electropop, dance pop | |||
| Length | 4:26 | |||
| Label | Static Tongues, Mom + Pop | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Alan Palomo | |||
| Producer(s) | Alan Palomo | |||
| Neon Indian singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Polish Girl" is a song recorded by the American band Neon Indian. It was released on August 3, 2011, as the second single from their second studio album, Era Extraña (2011).[1] A music video, directed by Tim Nackashi and produced in collaboration with The Creators Project, was released on September 13.[2][3] It was included in the PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One rereleases of Grand Theft Auto V in 2014 and 2015 as part of the radio station Radio Mirror Park.[4]
Composition[edit]
Era Extraña was recorded from the winter of 2010 to 2011 at Kalevankatu 45 in Helsinki, Finland, when Palomo lived there for four weeks.[5][6] "Polish Girl" was defined as electropop[7] and dance pop.[8]
Larry Fitzmaurice of Pitchfork found "Polish Girl" to be similar to the song "Reunion" (2004) by Canadian band Stars, seeing a resemblance to its theme of someone trying to recover, and yearning for, young love.[9] Palomo asks questions in the song that are likely to be unanswered, such as "Do I still cross your mind?/ Your face still distorts the time".[9] Drowned in Sound reviewer Robert Cooke noted the "dazzling syncopated pulse" to be similar to the coin sound effect in games from the Mario series, while observing melodies that "splash and slide around sickly-sweet flurries of arpeggios and a family-friendly feel-good beat".[10] Parry Ernsberger of Blurt said that the song includes what sounds like samples from the game Super Mario World (1991), and has the "euphoric energy" of Cut Copy's album Zonoscope (2011).[11] Beats Per Minute writer Aurora Mitchell said the song "sounds like 80s disco distorted through an old computer",[12] while Heather Phares of AllMusic noted the song sounds more like Palomo's other project Vega than Neon Indian.[13]
Reception[edit]
Pitchfork gave "Polish Girl" their "Best New Track" accolade at the time of its release.[9] They named it the 69th best song of 2011,[14] while Consequence named it the year's 18th best, with Frank Mojica writing: "With 'Polish Girl', Neon Indian has traded their signature chillwave stylings in favor of a dreamy spin on dance pop and set the new standard for retro chic".[8]
Personnel[edit]
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Era Extraña.[6]
- Alan Palomo – production, arrangements, performer
- Dave Fridmann – additional production, mixing
- Claudius Mittendorfer – mixing
Charts[edit]
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Mexico Ingles Airplay (Billboard)[15] | 39 |
References[edit]
- ^ Gruen, Margot Cooper. "Listen: Neon Indian 'Polish Girl'". Under the Radar. Archived from the original on September 27, 2021. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
- ^ Bevan, David (September 13, 2011). "Video: Neon Indian: 'Polish Girl'". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
- ^ Breihan, Tom (September 13, 2011). "Neon Indian – "Polish Girl" Video". Stereogum. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
- ^ Goble, Corban (November 17, 2014). "Grand Theft Auto V Reveals Expanded Radio Station Tracklists for Game Relaunch". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
- ^ Dombal, Ryan (September 12, 2011). "Interviews: Neon Indian". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on October 11, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
- ^ a b Era Extraña (liner notes). Neon Indian. Mom + Pop Music. 2011. MP033.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Carlin, Shannon (August 3, 2011). "Listen: Neon Indian, 'Polish Girl': All Songs Considered". NPR. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
- ^ a b "Top 50 Songs of 2011". Consequence. December 9, 2011. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
- ^ a b c Fitzmaurice, Larry (September 13, 2011). "Neon Indian: 'Polish Girl'". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on September 8, 2015. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
- ^ Cooke, Robert (October 6, 2011). "Album Review: Neon Indian – Era Extraña". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on October 25, 2015. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
- ^ Ernsberger, Parry. "Neon Indian – Era Extraña". Blurt. Archived from the original on December 27, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
- ^ Mitchell, Aurora (September 14, 2011). "Album Review: Neon Indian – Era Extraña". Beats Per Minute. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
- ^ Phares, Heather. "Era Extraña – Neon Indian". AllMusic. Archived from the original on December 11, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
- ^ "The Top 100 Tracks of 2011". Pitchfork. December 12, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
- ^ "Neon Indian: Mexico Ingles Airplay". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2023.