The four piece, fuzz/grunge/basement/beach-pop band, Buddie, released their debut LP, Diving, through the Pittsburgh label, Crafted Sounds, today and my goodness do I have some words to write about this. Buddie started out as the solo project of Dan Forrest in 2015, and has since evolved into the four-piece band it is today (including Danielle Farley on guitar and vocals, Brian Thomas on bass, and David Dean of drums and synth), with Diving being written as a collaborative effort between the four members. If you like bands like Pine Barons and Ali Awan, you will LOVE this band. Not only is this album just fun and pleasant to listen to musically, it also has some pretty serious topics to discuss, and it does so in a really poignant and straightforward way. The themes that are explored in these songs are pretty perfect for the current social, political and literal climate, and includes social anxiety, trying to be a good person and environmentalism.
What I really love about this album is that there is so much to explore with it. “Diving” is really the perfect album title, because there is truly soooo much to dive into. Let’s take the first song off the album, Boiler, for example. If you want to dive into the sound, the feeling, the vibe you get from it, there’s plenty to feel out. As soon as the song starts, I’m suddenly aware of just how much tension I’ve been holding in my body and it all just releases in this wave of relief, kind of rushing out of me in the first measure. On the flip-side, if you want to really dive into the lyrics, there’s quite a bit to unpack there, too. Boiler looks like a pretty straightforward commentary on the incredible problems we as humans have made for ourselves in terms of just completely fucking up our environment and the way we continue to treat it. These sentiments continue into the second song, Heartbeat, (which was released as a single earlier this year) with such lyrics as:
“We had the luck and the good fortune to detect
We see the warning
But we spit straight in its face
Won’t ever trust the unseen evidence
Especially with the hope of being rich”
These lyrics can really start a conversation we all need to be having. Many of these songs ultimately feel like an environmentalist’s anthem, and we are here to support it. While other themes are also explored, it’s lyrics like those on Heartbeat that really stuck with me, and these lyrics on the last son Garden’s Glow, that stuck with me:
“ ‘If we just commit to what’s already done,
Then maybe all our problems just go away’
That type of thought comes from self-serving fear
Convinced that everyone can just go away
More like if they don’t look like you get away
Such hate
Won’t stay”
But, like I said, it’s how the music and the lyrics tie together that really impress me on this album. It inspires serious conversation, but it’s also the perfect album to throw on if you’re on a road trip to the beach. Actually, you shouldn’t stop there. Bring these tune ONTO the beach (obviously be mindful to remain as socially distant as possible), put them on your bluetooth speaker, and drown out the shitty top 40 music that seems to be required listening by everyone else who is already on the beach.
by Kristen Levine