“As Los Angeles, California’s most promising indie pop duo Polaris Rose has consistently proven to be worthy of all accolades bestowed on them… ‘Ocean Blue, Velvet Skies’ continues the growth of the duo and proves that the best music is to be found in the independent circuit… If there was any justice in the world, Polaris Rose would be traveling the biggest stages of the world with their music. Alas that is not the case and Polaris Rose continue to be an undiscovered gem stuck in their regional scene. Perhaps for the best, as an undiluted Polaris Rose is far better than anything on the radio today.”
Polaris Rose was founded by Peter Anthony and Madelynn Elyse. Having met at a concert in Boston, the two joined forces and moved across the country to Los Angeles. After two years of struggling individualy in the music industry, Anthony and Elyse decided to take a chance and work as a duo on their dream project: Polaris Rose.
They launched in the fall of 2013 with the release of their debut EP, "The Moon & its Secrets" and their sophomore EP, "OceanSongs". The project was produced and recorded entirely by Anthony and Elyse, who fashioned together songs with alt rock aggression and symbolic, Jungian-flavored lyrics. They enlisted the help of their favorite drummer, Kiel Feher (who has played on every Polaris Rose recording to date) and recorded vocals with Yan Perchuk at Vibrant Productions. Their efforts won them LA Deli’s Band of the Month in June 2014 and caught the attention of online music blogs like 7Bit Arcade, AltSounds, Music Connect, and Largehearted Boy.
Riding the wave of positive reviews, the duo's debut full-length - "Telescopes" - was released November 2014. The album continued to accelerate their presence online, landing them a feature in the Aquarian Weekly and getting them listed on Music Connect’s list of Hot 100 Live Unsigned Artists. To celebrate the release of 'Telescopes’, the band sold out the Hotel Cafe in Hollywood, CA... a venue they would frequent over the following years.
Their 2nd full-length - titled "Ocean Blue, Velvet Skies" - was released in March 2016. The duo treated the tone of the record like a darker - but still tonally similar - sequel to ‘Telescopes’. The response to the record was immediate and landed them once more on Music Connect's list of Hot 100 Live Unsigned Artists (2016). To help advance the sound quality of “Ocean Blue, Velvet Skies”, the duo brought in mixer John Spiker (Tenacious D, Filter). Mastering for the record happened at The Bakery with Eric Boulanger.
While the reception to “Ocean Blue, Velvet Skies” was overwhelmingly positive, the duo found themselves frustrated with the battles that come from existing in the Los Angeles music scene. In a city where image is everything and music is a distant second, the duo ached to break out of the hit-driven mindset of the music business and dive into a sound that was just as that captured their vision without compromise.
Finding their vision proved illusive, as the duo hunkered down and completed an entire album - "Knives Among the Orchids" - only to shelve it and move onto new music. Anthony and Elyse came to the conclusion that they needed to get that record out, but it was not quite Polaris Rose... more like an evil twin. They were back where they started.
One day, while finishing the darker 'Knives Among the Orchids', the duo happened upon a song that felt instantly right. It was Polaris Rose, but matured. As they kept writing, the next record immediately poured out... along with its subversive lyrical themes and the tone of the music. Whereas in the past Anthony took lead on songwriting, the new collection of songs was completely written by both Elyse and Anthony. Thus, "The Waves Within" was born.
Rather than self-produce the entire album themselves, Polaris Rose went in the studio with John Spiker, who had mixed two records for them in the past. The collaborative experience was thrilling for the duo and the final record turned out to be their personal favorite work that they have made.
"The Waves Within" was released May 2019. Maddie and Peter released the album on a lark. Since completing the album with Spiker, both had been turning their attention to other projects. At first, the album sat online unlistened to… but something happened that stunned Maddie and Peter. The album began to take on a life of its own, especially the song “American Dreams”. The songs from “The Waves Within” began to appear in commericals/films around the world and Polaris Rose was suddenly being embraced by a whole new audience.
It’s now 2020 and Polaris Rose has been hard at work on their 4th LP, titled “A Quiet Storm”. The album sees Polaris Rose at their most dynamic and personal, which is partially why it has taken the duo so long to complete the album. Look for new music and videos in 2021. If you’d like to keep an eye on Polaris Rose, sign up for the Newsletter and Subscribe on Spotify.
Photo by Shervin Lainez.