An Interview With Pöllixx
A release from Pöllixx brings out a hard stomping alternative rock banger that bears a lush guitar drudgery and a dark Edge that undertones the track and keeps things in a certain atmosphere as versus explode into massive choruses and sticks to a four on the floor, jump up and down rhythm.
"Can I Trust You With My Heart?" showcases such an absolute love for the craft that you can hear so much attention to detail in the song as well as a lot of surprises behind Corners that you didn't really expect.
This was a fists in the air, sing along headbanger that has so much drive it will get you off your ass and jumping around within seconds flat.
You get such a unique set of vocals here that showcase such character and attitude that it's absolutely infectious. Everything about this song fits in like pieces of a puzzle nearly perfectly and when it's over you almost have to hit repeat again.
This song has a stomping feeling behind it and that's part of its heavy drive as guitars crunch and vocals set the mood.
You also get really cool emotionally driven heavy breakdowns that throw you off kilter for a few seconds and we all love stuff like that.
We all love to hear a part of the song that just explodes and has this electricity to it that lets you actually feel the energy in your body.
Of course things like this aren't always so easy to pull off on record however Pöllixx manages to do it without a hitch.
There's a very cool envelope pushing aspect to this track as well that I think just comes naturally to an artist like this.
This is definitely a single that you could hear on alternative rock stations everywhere and the way it's arranged and put together is very smart and creates something for the song that's addictive.
Although this was probably a thought process, this just might be the type of artist that writes like this naturally because it feels like that.
Everything about this has this gigantic arena rock almost anthemic tonality that really pushes forward and grabs at you.
This track has a purebred gothic alt rock vibe and it's completely authentic and nailed.
With the release of such a badass single we wanted to touch base with Pöllixx to find out where this track actually came from and what might be coming up next.
Here's what went down.
TSWS: Let's kick things off with "Can I Trust You With My Heart". This single had a vivacious attitude, edge, and was danceable also! Where did this track come from?
"Can I Trust You With My Heart" was actually lyrically written about a decade ago by my brother Alexsander Caster Volor (lead singer of our band Caster Volor). In March of 2020 during the pandemic, I started this solo project POLLIXX where I played every instrument and for the first time ever wrote my own lyrics and sang them to my own musical accompaniment. From there, I fell in love with writing and singing and recording, so I kept writing and recording songs one after another. At one point, I looked through my brother's lyrical archive of songs and found this one. It sounded completely different from the version you hear today, but upon reading the lyrics, I couldn't get it out of my head and as I was driving to work the music and the way of singing it just flowed out of me. It needed that lower tone, vampire type vocal which was exactly what I had been doing on previous songs hence this became my style/genre. The song you can say is emotional, romantic, but also unapologetically sleazy. It fit me. I also really enjoy dance music, so I like to make sure that my songs have a good beat that's not too complicated so you can move to it. Similar to Billy Idol, he's all about that "dance," but he's a punk rocker, it's brilliant.
TSWS: When did this all start for you? When did you really fall for music?
Music started for me in 2009, I was 14 years old and my brother handed me a guitar because he wanted me to play a riff he wrote while he sang as he couldn't do both (he had just gotten his first guitar). I had no idea what I was doing, well neither did he, but it was still really fun and I enjoyed it. From there, I learned the basics such as how to tune, play basic chords, read tabs and learn cover songs, and I fell in love with it to the point where I spent 8-10 hours everyday after school practicing until I went to sleep and I repeated this for years. I think it was the riff to "Rock You Like A Hurricane" that blew my mind and really got me started into writing music. The riff was so easy, but it had so much power to it, so I thought to myself, yeah, okay, I can do this.
TSWS: What inspires you to write a song?
I find inspiration from all sorts of outlets. POLLIXX started in lockdown which took a toll on my mental health and I know of many others out there as well. I felt trapped and not knowing when we'd be free, I felt like I hadn't lived my life, that I had just been doing the basics and not fully enjoying everything, so I wrote my first single, "Life Is But A Moment" because it really is. So much can change in an instant, so much can change hourly or daily, and you can't control that, so why not try to enjoy and live with the things you can control whatever that is for you. I followed this release by covering Elton John's "I'm Still Standing" which came out on New Year's Day 2021. I think you can see the trend. The song was about how much we'd been through, but here we are still standing. Break-ups, financial struggles, deaths, unemployments, sicknesses, ect. I felt we were on the upswing, but we still had a ways to go, so I released my third single, "The World Is Not The Same." The title speaks for itself, but after all the damage that had been done people just weren't who they used to be, or at least they were more open about it. I felt we lost a lot of kindness in our world, so I wanted to bring it to light. After these 3 releases, I completed a 15 track album (yet to be released) and this album became honestly, my personal diary. I wanted something that represented who I am as a person, how I feel, how I think, how I want the world to be, but the album needed to be metal. I wrote a lot about heartache and heartbreak, told stories about myself, wrote love songs, aggressive songs, anti-racist songs. My brother is featured lyrically and vocally on several tracks, so we made sure to hit it all. Different genres, different moods, different romantic tales, ect.
TSWS: This single has some great styles! Can you give us some of your top musical influences?
For this project, I was and am heavily influenced by HIM, AFI, RAMMSTEIN, Billy Idol, and Type O Negative to name a few. Ville Vallo of HIM was who really inspired me to pay attention to lyrics. I fell in love with his romantic, yet dark, but loving words. Plus his voice is beautiful. Davey Havok of AFI inspired me to become a better singer. He has an excellent vocal range, and tone which puts me to work. RAMMSTEIN and Billy Idol were my main influences for the music. The heavy industrial guitars mixed with the punk pop dance of Billy Idol created, "Can I Trust You With My Heart." And, well, Peter Steel is a mix of it all, and a vampire like myself.
TSWS: What are you doing when you're NOT working on music?
Outside of music, I run a personal training business and train clients daily. I also really enjoy partying and spending time with my closest friends which leads us on all sorts of adventures.
TSWS: Who's in your headphones right now?
UNTO OTHERS! This band is truly phenomenal. They don't have a bad song.
TSWS: Are you doing any live performances right now?
Yes, I'm currently booking shows all around the U.S. for my band Caster Volor (POLLIXX doesn't perform live). We will be hitting MN, WI, IL, KS, TX, NE, and plan to branch out more to the east and west coast as well.
TSWS: This single feels like a big undertaking, is there any advice you'd give to other up and coming artists out there?
It really is. I've received the strongest response on this one and I'm incredibly proud of it. Advice to others, just keep writing and recording yourself. This way you enhance your skills and can really improve your techniques as well as find your sound. If you listen to the vocals to "Life Is But A Moment" and then "Can I Trust You With My Heart" you can hear I came into my own and I'm not afraid to say that. I had never sung a full song on recording myself, so I know it has it's rough parts, but that's also true, raw rock 'n' roll. If you want perfect polished pop go listen to Taylor Swift.
TSWS: What can your fans expect from you in the near future?
A full length album release with music videos from POLLIXX. New music, videos, merch and tour dates from CASTER VOLOR.
TSWS: Before we go, what would you like to say to fans of the music?
I am truly grateful for each and every one of you. Being an independent artist in 2023 has it's advantages, but plenty of disadvantages. Touring is expensive, it's hard on the mind/body, and is very time consuming, so please buy the music, buy the merch, and support artists on social media. We see you, we hear you, we fucking love you.