Few bands capture the push and pull of vulnerability and triumph quite like Deep Sea Diver. With Billboard Heart, Jessica Dobson and her bandmates craft a sonic landscape shaped by self-reckoning, boundless curiosity, and a fearless embrace of imperfection. The album, layered with angular riffs, shimmering melodies, and striking lyrical imagery, is as much an open-road adventure as it is an intimate confession.
In our conversation with Dobson, we dive deep into the creative process behind Billboard Heart — from scrapped sessions in Los Angeles to the revelatory moments of recording at home. She reflects on the power of meditation, the thrill of collaboration, and the artistic risks that shaped this record into a bold declaration of identity. Whether she’s channeling Nick Cave’s mysticism, Tom Petty’s jangle, or Gang of Four’s urgency, one thing remains clear: Deep Sea Diver has never sounded more alive.
Hello, it’s a pleasure to speak with you. To break the ice, how would you describe yourself in three to five words?
Loyal, soulful, obsessed with wonder, big nerd.
Billboard Heart is described as a triumph over self-doubt and a journey toward renewed belief. How did that transformation influence the album’s sonic and lyrical themes?
I think that the internal reckoning I went through brought about an enormous amount of freedom. I started becoming more playful with lyrics, I veered totally away from any perfectionistic thinking and let art and my instincts lead the way. I think this album feels like open road and that is a direct reflection of where I was at.
You initially scrapped the Los Angeles sessions — what was missing from those recordings that you found when you returned home?
I think the bones of the songs were there, but we didn’t quite capture the spirt or the essence. That is all that matters to me, I want a recording to feel alive.
Many of these songs deal with fear, resilience, and letting go. Was there a particular moment or event that crystallized these themes for you?
During the making of this record, I got really into meditation as a daily practice. I was kind of sceptical at first that it would make any difference in my life, but I found that it was the best gift I’ve ever given myself. It taught me how to truly listen and to be in tune with the world around me and to trust my instincts again.
The imagery in Billboard Heart, from its title to lyrics, feels both vulnerable and grand. What does the phrase ‘billboard heart’ mean to you?
Billboard heart is a lifetime of narratives that we tell ourselves. A million stories painted over. It’s about showing your cards, being fully yourself, embracing the past, even the things that are difficult to look at.
Madison Cunningham, Caroline Rose, and Greg Leisz contributed to this record. How did these collaborations come about, and how did they shape the final sound?
Madison and I became friends a few years back and I knew immediately that I wanted to write with her. Her creativity and free spiritedness is infectious. She is an insane guitar player, and we have so much fun playing together. When our song Let Me Go came about, it was the most effortless collaboration.
I also love Caroline Rose and her album The Art of Forgetting, and it inspired me to ask her to sing on a few songs. The collaboration with Greg Leisz was a dream of mine for a long time. His pedal steel guitar playing is all over some of my all-time favourite records. I can’t believe I got to collaborate with so many people that I’m deeply inspired by. It really elevated the album.
I also love Caroline Rose and her album The Art of Forgetting, and it inspired me to ask her to sing on a few songs. The collaboration with Greg Leisz was a dream of mine for a long time. His pedal steel guitar playing is all over some of my all-time favourite records. I can’t believe I got to collaborate with so many people that I’m deeply inspired by. It really elevated the album.
You co-produced the album with Andy D. Park, with additional production from Adam Schatz. What was it like balancing production duties while also being so emotionally invested in the songs?
Andy has always been someone that empowers me in the studio. I love being really hands-on with engineering and experimenting with sounds, and he’s really great at creating space for that and also making sure that the songs are getting to where they need to be. He gets the essence of what Deep Sea Diver is going for and there’s deep trust between us all. This all lends itself to making things work well with when I’m producing.
You and Peter have a long history of writing together. How did your dynamic evolve while creating Billboard Heart?
I think we got to enter into a new dynamic on this album. There was a deeper sense of trust and playfulness. We needed to discard some of our old patterns of sometimes being too critical or judging an idea too quickly before it had time to evolve. We learned how to take a beat and enjoyed seeing a lot of surprises pop up where we least expected them.
Some of the album was recorded in your home studio — how did that DIY approach impact the final product?
I love that there are three tracks on the album that were recorded at my house. I think because I thought I was recording demos at the time, there is a really special spirit that was captured. Most of the things we kept were first takes and they have all of the sweet imperfections that I tend to love on other records where I can tell that things weren’t overthought.
I’m really proud of the song What Do I Know. It was the first time that I engineered all of the instruments, and I was really inspired by the sounds on the first The Smile record. It was just me having fun trying to get my drums to sound like Nigel Goodrich’s.
I’m really proud of the song What Do I Know. It was the first time that I engineered all of the instruments, and I was really inspired by the sounds on the first The Smile record. It was just me having fun trying to get my drums to sound like Nigel Goodrich’s.
Shovel has this raw, angular energy, and you’ve cited influences like Nick Cave and Kate Bush for the video. Can you talk about the writing and recording process behind that track?
That song came about while trying some new writing exercises. I was given the prompt to write about a shovel and this strange song made its way out. At first it had this Sonic Youth meets Portishead kind of vibe and it slowly evolved into a strange angular pop song. It was actually one of the hardest songs to capture on the album, it kept fighting us off and we had to put it down for a while. Thankfully that space we gave it allowed us to tweak a few things, and we figured out how to make it sing.
Your guitar work is a defining element of Deep Sea Diver’s sound. Were there any new techniques, tones, or gear that you experimented with on this album?
Yes! I got really into Tom Petty records for the guitar influence on the song Billboard Heart. I wanted it to be jangly and hint towards a bit of classic Springsteen-esque heartland rock ‘n roll. I also started experimenting with different fuzzes and echos and ended up getting to design my own signature guitar pedal for the album. I used that pedal on songs like Emergency, Shovel and See in the Dark. I haven’t heard anything like that pedal and I’m really excited to release it soon.
Emergency feels urgent and electrifying, blending punk energy with electroclash textures. What inspired that song’s sonic direction?
I think some of my early Walkmen influence, especially the energy on the song The Rat, influenced it. Theres also some Gang of Four guitar influence, especially in the guitar part in the bridge. At our core, we are an angular rock band, and I love how arresting this track feels.
“There is such a deep well of creativity in all of us and it’s there if you can get quiet enough to listen and be in tune with yourself.”
You’ve drawn comparisons to St. Vincent, TV on the Radio, and Flock of Dimes. Were any particular artists or albums an influence on this record?
I will always in some way shape or form take my Nick Cave influence into an album… Carnage was a big record for me that helped me get in touch with some of the more mystical elements that exist in my understanding of the world. I was also listening to a lot of Cate Le Bon, Tim Hecker and watching Wim Wender’s movies. Paris, Texas is the biggest influence on the album.
The music industry can be a double-edged sword, as you’ve experienced. After the success of Impossible Weight, how did you navigate external expectations while staying true to your creative instincts?
We really tried to protect our space in the studio this time around. We built a fortress for creativity by not allowing any business noise in or thinking about how the album might be perceived as we were making it. We usually take a lot of video while we’re recording but we decided that even that was too much, we didn’t want to be conscientious of anything else besides making the best art we could make. Those things helped keep the internal critic out and kept us true to our instincts.
This album emerged from a period of questioning your path in music. What did you learn about yourself as an artist in the process?
I learned that when I truly let go, that’s where the magic was. I was reckless and like a child again. No ego. There is such a deep well of creativity in all of us and it’s there if you can get quiet enough to listen and be in tune with yourself. I also learned how to embrace failure instead of fighting it.
Now that Billboard Heart is finished and ready to be heard, what do you hope listeners take away from it?
I hope it connects them to their spirit, kicks open new doors for possibilities, and helps them to be fully present with all of the complex things that make us human.
