Polar Eyes: Not Just Your Ordinary “Ikea” Band

It was on a cloudy afternoon on a Saturday –September 27th to be exact–, when I met up with two members of Montreal-based indie band, Polar Eyes. The two humble gentlemen, T and Jason, were already waiting for me at a coffee shop on Saint-Denis street. This was not my first time seeing them; I saw them about a month prior to the interview, when they played a benefit show for Confront Magazine at Club Soda. During the hour and a half talk we had, it was clear that the musicians behind the name Polar Eyes had many different and interesting layers to them, just like their music.

The band consists of four talented musicians: T (lead singer), Jason (lead guitar), Elliot (bass) and Max (drums). The latter was the latest addition to the changing line up of Polar Eyes. However, this change does not undermine their music, nor does it affect their dynamics as a band. If anything, they are happy with their decision. “He’s actually been [in the band] for a month and a half, maybe two months. But it seems like it’s been going forever; it’s really going well”, commented T regarding the addition of Max. Jason agrees, stating that their “chemistry is at its’ best right now”.

Having met in college, T, Jason and Elliot didn’t realize that this chemistry would ever really abound. T created a music club at school and started organizing shows for philanthropic organizations such as Amnesty International and Doctors without Borders. It was through this activity that he met his future bandmates, although there was no sudden epiphany that they should instantly form a band… at least on Jason’s part. “T and Elliot went on to form the beginnings of Polar Eyes and I went on with other things”, said Jason. “I wasn’t really into the idea of necessarily being in a band. I was just into the idea of making music. The idea of a band was very foreign to me.”

Eventually though, Jason started playing in other bands that shared the stage with Polar Eyes. “I have to be honest. I was really jealous. There was a certain part of me that was like ‘I wish I was part of something that good’ because from the very beginning, I thought there was a core that was just so strong.” And like a self-fulfilled prophecy, he did eventually join the band, although it took a few years for him to do so.

With the new and improved 2008 line up, the band just recently started to take stage again; the first show being a benefit concert for Confront Magazine in August. Although they are considered a fairly new band, their sound and presence on stage is quite remarkable. There’s this balance that they create with their music, the kind that makes you think while you dance and sing whole-heartedly to the familiar stories they share. The maturity they posses on stage can easily fool any audiece into thinking that Polar Eyes have been together for a very long time. “Everyone [in the band]‘s on the same page, and there’s an ease to that; it’s very effortless”, commented Jason.

This effortless collaboration is also evident in their songwriting techniques. For the most part, T would come up with the rough draft of a song, the skeleton if you will. Afterwards, he would present it to the rest of the band and they would work on it some more. Jason believes it to be “a very democratic kind of way of writing, where everyone just pitches in”, whereas T compares their songwriting techniques to Ikea. “We’re an Ikea band in a way; it’s like you have this vision in your head, but it comes in pieces and you work on each piece one at a time”.

The band overall has very strong feelings regarding songwriting. For them, the most important thing about music is to share a story and hope that whoever’s listening can relate to it. As T puts it, “music is an open door; it can be a mirror, it can be an exit, it can be whatever you need in life to mark a moment or go through something and turn the page. And if at least one person has found that door in one of our songs, then mission accomplished”.

Their story-sharing capabilities, paired with their meticulous way of writing definitely shine through their tunes, instantly dawning on the audience that this is not another generic band that can be found on myspace. Regarding the release of their upcoming album, they are not concerned about release dates or touring, or any other things that bands who only want to make money might care about. They like to take their time, working on minute details of their tunes and making sure that they are conveying their message in the way they had originally planned. Jason feels especially very strongly about this. “We can book some studio time tonight and record 10 or 12 songs and not have a problem doing so, but does that mean we do justice to any of the music? Probably not. So we’d rather take the time to write and get to that place that we feel really good about”. Furthermore, they are trying to find their limits as a band, and as much as possible, try to push these. Hence, they are estimating the release of their new album sometime early next year.

Although their musical rise is a slow one, it is a sure one. Unlike generic bands that rise to fame only to be forever forgotten within a year’s span, Polar Eyes will creep slowly into the industry but leave a mark. If not through the stories they share about life and relationships, then definitely with their clean guitar riffs, ingenious bass lines and refreshing drum beats will they whisper into your ear their identity as a band; one that will not be so easily forgotten. They say that “the greatest things come with time”, and you can be certain that one of these things is Polar Eyes.

Catch Polar Eyes at Petit Campus in Montreal with Plajia, Modernboys moderngirls, and The Rebel Year tomorrow night. Tickets are on admission.com.