Music / Features
Track by Track:
Polarize - Lucky Eye
Polarize - Lucky Eye
Following the release of their latest EP Lucky Eye last month, we had Melbourne indie-pop outfit Polarize take us through each track that makes up the new release.
Excuse the tired pun but there’s nothing polarising about Lucky Eye, Polarize’s new EP. Over six tracks, they craft a deeply melodic collection that meets at the fine intersection between indie-pop and indie-rock. The rhythm section is always playful and expressive, full of dazzling and dancing synths and prowling and pouncing guitars. It’s why much of the record is imbued with a light touch of funk and it’s also why Polarize immediately strikes the listener as being reminiscent of MGMT or Phoenix.
Lucky Eye was written and recorded in Melbourne's north, mixed by Colin Leadbetter (Leah Senior, Whitley, Girlatones) and mastered by Mikey Young (Total Control, Eddy Current Suppression Ring). The result is an endlessly groovy effort that still feels focused and tight. And vocalist Rudie Dood is the perfect front for the fantastic melodies weaving around him: his nonchalant but confident delivery carries the endlessly groovy songs in a similar manner to how Julian Casablancas drawled through a Strokes’ song.
As Melbourne slowly settles into a sense of sort-of-normality after the duress of the COVID-19 lockdowns, Polarize are the cool and collected purveyors of party who offer the perfect accompaniment to the weekend.
After the release of the EP, we caught up with the band to find out more about the inspirations behind each track.
Lucky Eye was written and recorded in Melbourne's north, mixed by Colin Leadbetter (Leah Senior, Whitley, Girlatones) and mastered by Mikey Young (Total Control, Eddy Current Suppression Ring). The result is an endlessly groovy effort that still feels focused and tight. And vocalist Rudie Dood is the perfect front for the fantastic melodies weaving around him: his nonchalant but confident delivery carries the endlessly groovy songs in a similar manner to how Julian Casablancas drawled through a Strokes’ song.
As Melbourne slowly settles into a sense of sort-of-normality after the duress of the COVID-19 lockdowns, Polarize are the cool and collected purveyors of party who offer the perfect accompaniment to the weekend.
After the release of the EP, we caught up with the band to find out more about the inspirations behind each track.
Lucky Eye
This is definitely the oldest song on the EP, I’ve had the riff and verse sections since 2016 I think. The chorus came about two years ago, and the outro was something Brett suggested last year just before we went to Japan. I like the change of pace it gives the track, from the bluesy shuffle to a psych freak out. It was recorded at home this year in the middle of lockdown, every other track except ‘Stoned’ were done in the studio in March last year. The songs touches on a few subjects, but I’ve got a lazy eye so I thought it would be funny to imagine it being a super power that allows me to see through people, hence ‘Lucky Eye’.
Friends Again
I think ‘Friends Again’ was the first song I wrote after we got back from Japan, so it’s the newest song on the EP. I wrote it on my keyboard at home and really liked the melody. At first I thought I was ripping off a song by a band like Mild High Club, but it turns out I wasn’t, it just sounds like Arctic Monkeys with synths. It narrates the honest and familiar tale of a friendship that deteriorates over time.
Evil Thoughts
This song has been kicking around for a while, originally called ‘Stoned’ for no other reason than I couldn’t think of what to call the logic demo. It was recorded entirely at home the same as ‘Lucky Eye’. It’s the most upbeat song, doesn’t have a chorus, has a weird feedback jam in the middle, but it's one of the funnest to play live. There aren’t many lyrics in this one, but I think the title sums up the themes pretty well.
Big Old Kid
The bones of the track were recorded in a studio in South Melbourne back in March along with ‘Eugene’s Calling’ and ‘Friends Again’, literally the weekend that everything got shut down. So we had to finish off the rest of the track at home. We changed up the mixing process for this EP and used Colin Leadbetter rather than my Dad, who has mixed nearly all of our songs. In my head, the song is set in some kind of party scene, and it’s about old friends pissing you off and just thinking that they’ll never grow up. That’s where the line “so long my friend/goodbye again/you’re off your head” comes from. It’s not necessarily about anyone in particular, just about a feeling I sometimes get. I feel like I’m almost talking to myself for most of the song.
Eugene’s Calling
I really wanted to write a funky song with a big chorus, I was listening to bands like Ratatat and Parcels at the time, and they have lots of upbeat Daft Punk esque songs. After recording it it definitely became totally Polarize, but that was the kinda of vibe I had in my head as I was writing it. As for what it’s about… It’s probably the song that makes the least amount of sense, but that was kind of the point. The original idea was that it was a fabricated phone conversation with an androgynous girl named ‘Eugene’, where she’d always call and spit out the same old story, that never made any sense but you’d always listen and never hang up because you didn’t want to be rude.
This is definitely the oldest song on the EP, I’ve had the riff and verse sections since 2016 I think. The chorus came about two years ago, and the outro was something Brett suggested last year just before we went to Japan. I like the change of pace it gives the track, from the bluesy shuffle to a psych freak out. It was recorded at home this year in the middle of lockdown, every other track except ‘Stoned’ were done in the studio in March last year. The songs touches on a few subjects, but I’ve got a lazy eye so I thought it would be funny to imagine it being a super power that allows me to see through people, hence ‘Lucky Eye’.
Friends Again
I think ‘Friends Again’ was the first song I wrote after we got back from Japan, so it’s the newest song on the EP. I wrote it on my keyboard at home and really liked the melody. At first I thought I was ripping off a song by a band like Mild High Club, but it turns out I wasn’t, it just sounds like Arctic Monkeys with synths. It narrates the honest and familiar tale of a friendship that deteriorates over time.
Evil Thoughts
This song has been kicking around for a while, originally called ‘Stoned’ for no other reason than I couldn’t think of what to call the logic demo. It was recorded entirely at home the same as ‘Lucky Eye’. It’s the most upbeat song, doesn’t have a chorus, has a weird feedback jam in the middle, but it's one of the funnest to play live. There aren’t many lyrics in this one, but I think the title sums up the themes pretty well.
Big Old Kid
The bones of the track were recorded in a studio in South Melbourne back in March along with ‘Eugene’s Calling’ and ‘Friends Again’, literally the weekend that everything got shut down. So we had to finish off the rest of the track at home. We changed up the mixing process for this EP and used Colin Leadbetter rather than my Dad, who has mixed nearly all of our songs. In my head, the song is set in some kind of party scene, and it’s about old friends pissing you off and just thinking that they’ll never grow up. That’s where the line “so long my friend/goodbye again/you’re off your head” comes from. It’s not necessarily about anyone in particular, just about a feeling I sometimes get. I feel like I’m almost talking to myself for most of the song.
Eugene’s Calling
I really wanted to write a funky song with a big chorus, I was listening to bands like Ratatat and Parcels at the time, and they have lots of upbeat Daft Punk esque songs. After recording it it definitely became totally Polarize, but that was the kinda of vibe I had in my head as I was writing it. As for what it’s about… It’s probably the song that makes the least amount of sense, but that was kind of the point. The original idea was that it was a fabricated phone conversation with an androgynous girl named ‘Eugene’, where she’d always call and spit out the same old story, that never made any sense but you’d always listen and never hang up because you didn’t want to be rude.
Lucky Eye is out now in all the usual places.
