Canadian musician Dev Travis, the creative force behind the moniker Polar Island Parkway, has been successfully carving out a niche for himself in the indie rock landscape. Specialising in a sound that vividly blends the raw emotion of Midwest-emo with the energetic punch of pop-punk, his music, often produced under his own label Lamebird Records, resonates with a uniquely heartfelt and DIY aesthetic.
With the recent release of his third LP, 'Echo the Heart', we caught up with Dev to learn a bit more about the album's creation, his musical journey, and the inspirations that have helped fuel his distinctive sound. From his early days in the Ontario music scene to the deeply personal themes explored in his latest work, Dev offers a candid glimpse into the world of Polar Island Parkway.
It's always great to sit down with you, Dev. Let’s take it right back, where did you first start making music, and what inspired you?
“I started as a teenager back in Owen Sound, Ontario. I was a frontman in a couple of bands with friends, and the people I surrounded myself with during that time really helped me kick-start a career in music. I just remember seeing certain people in my scene make creative decisions that were really outside the box and abstract and that was the most inspiring thing in the world to me. Once I realised I could write and produce music entirely the way I wanted to, it just became my entire life.”
You have a new album out, your third so far. Can you tell us a bit about it and what it means to you?
“This last album was the biggest yet and really challenged me to write in a more honest way. I also wanted to work on some storytelling, which is something I didn’t do much of on my last album ‘Life After Lizards’. That is in full effect on tracks like 'Backyard’ and its sister song ‘Shark's Teeth'. I missed the idea of stepping into the shoes of someone who doesn’t exist and just brutally digging through their heartache, insecurity and fears and then throwing them in people's face.”
“I end up learning a lot about myself that way- writing in that style is a great exercise to bring subconscious feelings to the surface, I think. From a music standpoint, this album made me really focus on letting my guard down and just creating something I wanted to exist. This time, I really didn’t worry about my unconventional production style turning people off or my lyrics alienating people. I just think focusing on doing whatever you can to serve the songs always makes the record stronger, you know? I think it all flows well, that’s always the goal for me- making a homogeneous album every time that stands alone as its own project. Even the songs that don’t follow the same formula, like ‘Vampire’ which is sort of a shoegaze song, are songs that still belong only on this record in my opinion. There were other tracks that I felt didn’t serve the record as much, but I still loved them, so I threw those on Bandcamp in the ‘Bonus Tracks’ version of ‘Echo’.”
You’ve touched on a change in focus for the new album. Has there been an overall change in your sound and style on the album as well?
“For sure, I kind of fell back into a phase of revisiting genres I liked as a teenager that are really raw like folk-punk. That kind of sound just naturally mixes well with the sort of Midwest-emo vibe in my stuff, and it just really empowered me to sing in my actual voice rather than try to sound perfect. There's this great Scottish folk artist named Gerry Cinnamon who is beloved for singing in his unique native accent and not disguising his voice, there's nothing I love more in music than singers who are honest like that in the way they perform.”
“My all-time biggest influence ever is a Toronto-based band called PUP, and they do that really well too. Another great example is The Front Bottoms, a band that has always been a huge source of inspiration for me too, you can really hear that on tracks like 'Lion', I think. It's really liberating to just be able to focus on performing or recording a song the way I feel it should sound, and doing it more in my own weird voice makes me appreciate the tracks so much more.”
Is there a central message or theme you were trying to convey in your latest release? Is there a moment in the release that really captures that idea?
“’Echo the Heart’ really is just about dissonance, conflicting emotions and -particularly as a man- not knowing whether to let what you feel surface or to bury it further. I think all the songs really convey this feeling. 'Buck' is the last track, and superficially it's about this strange and totally meaningless encounter with a deer. Metaphorically, though, it made me dive really deep into the idea of wanting to feel and spread love, but feeling unsafe doing that and having to be guarded all the time to protect yourself.”
“Finding a balance there is so hard, and I'm not very close with my feelings, which is funny because my career sort of forces me to explore and confront them if I want to write anything honest. I would say “Vampire” is the emotional centre of Echo the Heart. Just those reverberated screams in the second half are such a release. They're meant to echo a feeling of heartache I couldn't convey at all with lyrics, like something finally breaking. I wanted anyone listening to feel like they’re fully immersed in that- just grief and pain blurring into something a little bit beautiful. I hope that's the experience people have.”
Looking ahead, what are your aspirations as an artist? Where do you see yourself in the next few years, both musically and personally?
“I've always loved playing live, but I chose to take a huge break from performing to focus everything into recording and producing, and I want to really dive back into performing. I think, though, more than anything I want to keep doing what I'm doing and keep producing everything myself and work on finding enough of an audience online or through streaming that in a few years’ time I'll be able to pull together some shows in several different parts of Canada and America, that's the goal! As far as the next release goes, I don't have anything planned right now, I'm just writing and recording. The plan is to sift through everything this summer and see if I can sculpt a great record out of these new songs. That being said I really want to spend time right now focusing on trying to get this record to the right people so they can experience it.”
Is there anything you would like to say to our audience? How can they connect with you and help support you?
“For sure. Broken 8 has been so supportive over the last couple of years, and I couldn't be more thankful. I still end up finding so much great underground music through this great community. It's so important to support independent artists, and any platform or individual who actively does that is a hero to me.”
“The best way to support PKWY is to stream 'Echo the Heart' everywhere. Give it a chance and a full listen if you are interested. If you like it, reach out on social media and order a CD. Or just say yo! I'm always down to talk with people who like my music.”
“Another great way to support Polar Island Parkway is to check out the Bandcamp page. I uploaded the album with a whole bunch of bonus tracks, you can digitally purchase that one-of-a-kind version of ‘Echo the Heart’ there. So, whether you order a CD, buy the Bandcamp version or just stream a couple of songs on Spotify or Apple Music for free, all of it means the world to me and always will. Thank you for supporting independent music.”
'Echo the Heart' marks a significant step in Polar Island Parkway's evolution, a collection of tracks that challenged him to embrace a more honest and narrative-driven approach to songwriting.
For more from Dev and Polar Island Parkway, be sure to get in touch via Instagram and Facebook.
