I had the very good fortune of seeing Polaroid Fade perform at the Indie Pop Overthrow festival when DelCobras shared a stage with them earlier this year. The whole time they were playing, I had a nagging feeling that I’d heard of them before, but it wasn’t until I got home that I remembered that my friend Tim Simmons mentioned them. Tim plays in a band called Riverside, and he said they’d be doing a show with them in the near future. Hence question number three…

It’s funny: Your Bandcamp bio mentions The Smiths as an influence, and the minute you started playing at the International Pop Overthrow Festival, my first thought was that you reminded me of The Smiths. What draws you to their music? 

The Smiths are definitely a huge influence of ours! I really love their witty lyrics. They’re so unserious. I mean they have a song called “Some girls are bigger than others.” It’s absolutely hilarious!

You also mention that The Ocean Blue and The Sundays are also influences, so there’s plenty of 90s-era jangle-pop in your musical heritage. How did you discover those bands?

Absolutely! I love 90’s jangle-pop because I’ve been listening to it since birth haha! My dad gets all of the credit in the world for my taste in music.

And I understand you’re doing a show with 90s jangle-poppers Riverside at Philadelphia’s PhilaMOCA in January. How did that come about?

Yes! We are! I’m good friends with David Calamaro, the guitar player from Riverside! We’ve been talking about a show together for a little while now. I saw them open for the Ocean Blue in 2019, I believe, and, funny enough, I have listened to them my whole life, too, so it’s really exciting to finally be able to play with them in January!

I’m listening to your debut album, Chaos into Poetry, as I type this, and I’m reminded of Camera Obscura, which also makes me wonder if your band name might be a tribute to that band. Or is there a more likely explanation for calling the band Polaroid Fade?

Oh my goodness! I didn’t even notice that! Unfortunately, there was no thought of Camera Obscura when picking the band name, but I think I might just start saying that there was haha! There really is no exciting story behind the name, Polaroid Fade. I’ve just always had a fixation on Polaroid cameras ever since I was little, and the photos taken fade in, and over time, fade out. We just loved the poetry behind the name.

When I saw you play at the IPO, you had a Polaroid camera onstage. Do you document your shows with it? 

I did! Normally, I take photos of the audience, but our time was cut a bit short, so we weren’t able to. It’s my favorite part of our shows! After they develop, I post them to our Instagram page, so people from the shows can go on, and see themselves. It also makes the scene a bit more intimate, which I love!

I love the title Chaos into Poetry. What do you see as the relationship between the two?

There really isn’t a connection between the two, I’d say. I suppose that chaos can be such a beautiful thing when looked at in a certain light. I mean not all chaos can be poetic, of course, but it’s so comforting to find a sense of hope in a dark situation. 

You’re based in Ocean City, New Jersey. I can’t help thinking of Morrissey’s reference to a coastal town that they forgot to close down in Every Day Is Like Sunday. Do you relate to that line? 

That’s such a great song, and I absolutely love that lyric! I don’t relate, thankfully. Ocean City is very lively almost all-year-round. My family and I love it there! The boardwalk shops and piers are always alive during the summer. Asbury Ave, the main street, has shops that are always open as well, so it’s a really wonderful town.

More broadly, how does being from Ocean City influence your sound or your songwriting?

I can definitely say that Ocean City has shaped my songwriting haha! So often do I find myself writing about the beach or the boardwalk. We also have a surfy sound to a lot of our songs. Our song “Delancey,” for example, was written about the street, Delancey Place, that my parents lived on before they moved, and about what it feels like to live in a beach town!

I’m also struck by the phrase “no frills, no glitz” in your bio. What do you like about keeping things fairly simple, at least in terms of presentation?

Well, most of the songs that I listen to, and take inspiration from, are very simple songs. Yet, they still manage to capture a beauty from the poetic lyricism, and simple chords. I find that overcomplicated songs become overwhelming. I believe that a thick guitar sound is better than a thin guitar tone with layers of other guitar solos. 

What’s on the horizon for you?

Currently, we are just writing, playing shows, and recording. We almost have the entire second album finished haha! It’s just about finding the right time to release something, and what we will be releasing. We’re super excited to see what comes next for us!