Polaris Channel Emo Influences On The Stunningly Personal 'Overflow'

Polaris have already proven that their highly anticipated third album, Fatalism, will be pretty diverse in musical and lyrical themes, but with their new single, Overflow, the Aussie legends have stretched themselves to incorporate elements of alternative rock and emo into their sound.

Directed by Third Eye Visuals at DJ Warehouse, the music video is an energetic, well-lit clip that suits an already captivating single.

Viewers should be aware that the video features the late, dearly missed Ryan Siew. It’s the third music video promoting Fatalism that he stars in, following Inhumane and Nightmare. Overflow has been released in his memory.

“This is one of the much more personal and vulnerable tracks on the record lyrically, whereas the other two singles took a wider, more outward perspective,” drummer and songwriter Daniel Furnari said in a press release.

“I feel like the meaning of the song is fairly self-explanatory, and I think a lot of people will naturally interpret it through the lens of their own experiences, but essentially, for me, it’s about the struggle of fighting off a panic attack and the impact of that struggle on others.”

Overflow was born from one of the band’s writing sessions in the Blue Mountains in 2022. Furnari continued, “We were pretty deep into the process at this point; I think this was actually the final track to make it onto the record. Jake had been pumping out simple chord sequences in an effort to break away from the busier, riffier stuff we’d been writing, and Ryan came in with this super catchy sliding lead over the top, which became the basis for the chorus and the central motif of the song.”

Don't miss a beat with our FREE daily newsletter

Furnari acknowledges that while Inhumane followed a nu-metal direction and Nightmare embraced metalcore, Overflow shows an alt-rock side of Polaris.

The band drew from emo bands such as Basement and Balance & Composure, which guitarist Rick Schneider sought to emulate in the verses. “It’s always satisfying when we find a way to somehow incorporate that alongside the heavier stuff that we more regularly do,” Furnari said.

“Finding a way to get a big heavy section into this song without it feeling out of place was also a challenge, and I love that we managed to shape this combination of sliding power chord accents, crazy programming and bass and drum moments into a type of breakdown we hadn’t accomplished before.” Watch the music video below.

You can pre-order Fatalism here before its release on Friday, 1 September.

This September, Polaris will take Fatalism to the biggest Australian venues they’ve ever performed in alongside international heavy-hitters August Burns Red, Kublai Khan TX and Currents. You can find all the tour dates below.