Being a songwriter is being vulnerable, and music often sheds light on the deepest emotions of its composers. Jessica Dobson, of Seattle indie rock band Deep Sea Diver, not only wears her heart on her sleeve, but broadcasts her vulnerability loud for the whole world to see on the band's 2025 LP, Billboard Heart.
At the core of Deep Sea Diver are Dobson and her husband, drummer Peter Mansen. They began the project in 2009 with a self-released EP, New Caves, followed by two full-length albums, History Speaks and Secrets, both released on their own label, High Beam Records. Deep Sea Diver then partnered with ATO to release their breakthrough third studio album, Impossible Weight, which was voted KEXP listeners’ top album of 2020.
Last year, the band signed with legendary hometown label Sub Pop to release Billboard Heart. Dobson appreciated the creative liberty Sub Pop granted her in the making of the record.
“Having signed to a major label, Atlantic Records, when I was just at the end of my teen years, I was kind of lost in the system. I didn't really know anybody, but I was still getting commands from the top. It just felt like the Wizard of Oz — like this man behind the shadows — I would receive this information, and it was very disconnected and discombobulating for me. ... [Whereas] Sub Pop got back immediately when they were sent a finished record, and they were like, ‘We love this, we want to sign this.’ It wasn't like, ‘Oh, can you remix the song? We like this, but maybe this can change.’ It was really lovely that they just accepted it and ran with it."
In creating her music, Dobson has preferred having more control of the process, and she's also prioritized creating and recording songs at her home studio. She finds her artistic expression flows more easily and deeply in the comfort of her own home.
“There’s play and spontaneity that doesn't cost money. I love it, I'm just rolling tape longer,” Dobson said. “‘What Do I Know’ was almost entirely recorded by me at the home studio. There's just cool moments you can find that you might not carry over to a studio if it feels a little too high pressure, or you're like, ‘Okay, we're on the clock. This costs $1,000 an hour.’”
Thanks to that from-home ethos, Billboard Heart is an emotive and genuine album. Even the title track shows the impact of that safe creative space — it was passionately dreamt up after an argument with Dobson's husband. That emotional songwriting carries forward throughout the whole album, and reflects an embrace of authenticity and vulnerability.
“My favorite experiences are when something just kind of comes pouring out. You're not really analyzing it at the time, it's just kind of stream of consciousness, whatever wants to come out will come out,” Dobson said. “Sometimes I don't even realize what a song is actually about until some months after or even until it takes on new meaning when it's on the road.”
Dobson has also come to celebrate the Taoist concept of wu wei, the practice of taking effortless action in harmony with the natural flow of the universe.
“Wu Wei is like, 'follow — don't go against energy.' In the past, I had this battle, this inner battle of fighting and trying to make way for what I thought should happen,” Dobson said. “I think life is so much more beautiful when you jump into the stream and go, ‘Where are we going?’ and don't know. The act of letting go, I think, is one of the most fun things that we can do as human beings.”
Deep Sea Diver’s Billboard Heart provides an exceptional soundtrack to emotional surrender, and it’ll be exciting to see what the band plays loud and proud next.
