Caroline Polachek and Sudan Archives at Showbox SoDo

We were ecstatic to head over to the Showbox SoDo tonight to catch Caroline Polachek play one of her two sold out shows in Seattle as part of her Spiraling tour. Her second album, Desire, I Want to Turn Into You, has been widely praised and she keeps establishing herself as the next big musical star. Polachek made a name for herself when she co-founded Chairlift, which disbanded in 2017, and also releasing a couple of records under other aliases, until she dropped her debut record, Pang, in 2019 under her own name.

The night kicked off with another artist who has been on our radar for the last couple of years. Sudan Archives has created so much buzz and we couldn’t wait to experience her performance in Seattle. Her sophomore record, Natural Brown Prom Queen, received widespread critical acclaim and she’s been the artist to catch live. When she stepped onto the stage we could see why. Dressed in all black she moved back and forth commanding everyone in the audience. Brittney Parks, aka Sudan Archives, was not messing around at all.

She looked like she was ready to go into battle resembling a powerful Amazonian warrior. Even her violin bow holder was an arrow quiver on her back which made her outfit so much more intense. The violin pairing with the music playback and her singing made her set very memorable and we can’t wait to catch her when she returns. Highlights included, “Freakalizer,” “OMG Britt,” and “Selfish Soul.”

After the short wait it was time for Caroline Polachek to grace us with her presence. Her band members were set up behind some props leaving the stage mostly empty for her to move around. From the moment she appeared she engaged with the fans and made sure everyone was attentive for her music. Her white tank top had the words, Be Not Afraid, written on it and I would say there was no fear, just astonishment.

Polachek kept moving around the stage making it a complete marriage of motion and sound. Sometimes it looked like she was letting the music take over her body without being able to control it, creating a narrative with her movement. After playing, “Welcome to My Island,” “Hit Me Where It Hurts,” and “Pretty in Possible,” she stopped to ask how people were doing and that she was so happy to be here and to play the new songs for the first time in Seattle.

For track, “Blood and Butter,” Sudan Archives joined her on stage with her violin and this was a top moment of the night. Seeing both of them share the stage and collaborate was incredible. She then thanked Sudan for being on tour with her and that it’s been a dream to have her.

Polachek then played some tracks by herself without her band and this was the moment of complete awe for me. When playing “Butterfly Net,” there was nothing left inside of her, it was almost like the song devoured her senses, along with everyone else in the room. At the end of the track lights flashed as she moved to the beat making the stage look like cropped images moving through. Beautiful.

Before playing “Caroline Shut Up,” she noted that it was for all the other self-sabotagers there thinking that it’s so hard to be loved or making excuses up to ruin a relationship. ‘Sometimes you just have tell yourself to shut up!’ We completely agree with this message. Polachek went on to play “Smoke,” and finish with favorite, “So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings.” She returned for an encore playing, “Hopedrunk Everasking,” and popular “Door.” Spending the night with Polachek was absolutely magical and a complete emotional rollercoaster. We won’t be forgetting about it any time soon, if she’s coming your way, do NOT miss her.

Words and photos: Sophia Barkalakis @s.barkalakis