Deep Sea Diver have been Seattle’s little secret for more than a decade. Their fourth album, “Billboard Heart,” is their best to date and it feels like a band leveling up in real time. It’s an album filled with catchy songs, killer riffs and good old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roll vibes all around.
In my review of the album I called it one of the best records of the year and I believe that will still stand when the year comes to a close. I caught up with Deep Sea Diver’s principal songwriter and lead guitarist, Jessica Dobson, and asked her about opening for Pearl Jam, what makes a good riff and “the best bad boy,” Henry.
What is your earliest musical memory?
My earliest musical memory is singing in the car with my mom. I was 3 and we were driving in her sweet 1972 Mercedes and she was blasting the Beatles. I chimed in on a harmony and I can remember her looking back at me and looking surprised that I sang the harmony and not the melody.
Who are some of your musical influences and how are they represented, if at all, on Billboard Heart?
This album hits on a lot of my earlier influences like Nic Cave, early Blur, Elliot Smith and Feist. I love that theres a little bit of Tom Petty in there too, especially on the title track. I just wanted something to sit in and feel like you were rolling down open road.
What led to the decision to jump from ATO to hometown label Sub Pop?
We were really thrilled when Sub Pop expressed excitement in putting out this album. There was no back and forth or asking us to change anything about it, they just loved it for what it was and that is the best feeling ever. ATO was such a rad partner to have for [our previous album] Impossible Weight and it felt natural to move forward with Sub Pop and to have that hometown relationship.
How did playing with artists like Beck, Spoon and Yeah Yeah Yeahs help you creatively and what sort of influence did those experiences have on the music you make with Deep Sea Diver?
I gleaned so many things from playing with those artists. From Karen O I learned how to push myself further live, to embrace dramatic moments. From Beck, I learned how to explore sounds and textures on guitar.
How did you end up partnering with Madison Cunningham for Let Me Go?
We’ve been friends for a few years now and I’ve always wanted to collaborate with her. She has such a unique and mesmerizing way of writing songs and playing guitar and I felt like we really hit on something when we wrote Let Me Go together. There was no overthinking, and our guitars sound like a quilted pattern to me. I love that song.
Billboard Heart is filled with some sneaky monster riffs with songs like Emergency, Shovel and What Do I Know. In your opinion, what makes a good guitar riff?
A good guitar riff is something that sits in your bones. It asks you to play it again.
You were able to road test some of the material on Billboard Heart while touring with Pearl Jam, what did you learn about the songs from that experience?
I learned that some of them needed a new chorus, others were pretty much all there. It’s been fun to see how they translated in both mid size clubs and all the way up to arenas.
Last year you debuted an entire album’s worth of material at the Sunset but eventually ended up scrapping most of it. What were you able to salvage and how did the deconstruction process help shape Billboard Heart?
We didn’t technically scrap all of the songs, just most of the initial recordings of those songs. They didn’t contain that spirit that we’d hoped for. Thats all I care about in the studio. So we went on a different quest to capture the spirt of the songs, and in the end we added 4-5 newer songs that never would’ve been on the album if we didnt have the detour.
Lastly, your fifth band member, Heny the beagle, has become quite popular among fans. Is Henry always a good boy like I think he is, and will my asking about him give him a big head?
Henry is the best bad boy. The ultimate Uncle Sweetie. My beagle baby. Stubborn as hell. Forever the greatest.
