Real Life by Joan As Policewoman

Real Life, the debut studio album from Joan As Policewoman, the project of Joan Wasser, came out on Reveal Records in the UK on June 12, 2006, with the US release following a year later. Wasser had spent years as a sideman, starting out on violin with the Dambuilders and playing with Antony and the Johnsons, and here she finally put her own songs in the spotlight.

It's a hushed, soulful record, unhurried and intimate, built around a voice that aches without overselling. Antony Hegarty co-wrote "I Defy" and sings on it, the two voices circling each other. Critics loved it, and in early 2008 it won Best Pop/Rock Album at the 7th Annual Independent Music Awards. It also went silver with the Independent Music Companies Association, meaning at least 30,000 copies sold across Europe.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.