Last August, Philadelphia indie rockers Buddie released their debut album, Diving, on Crafted Sounds. Specializing in what the label describe as “fuzzy, poppy, rock songs about social anxiety, environmentalism, and trying to be a good person,” Buddie make music that nods to genre heavyweights like Pavement and Built to Spill, as well more contemporary acts like LVL UP or the Exploding in Sound roster.
Which is not to say they are some tired derivative. In truth, Buddie make music quite unlike anyone else. Diving saw Buddie build on the guitar-centric vibes of previous releases to include elements of folk and pop, its pliable song structures and triumphant loud-quiet dynamics making for something both fun and far-reaching. Urgency and empathy sit side by side, catchy melodies and moments of crunchy catharsis cradling stark and sincere explorations of the tangled web of crises that define our age—from depression and anxiety to our destruction of the planet.
The album’s opening track, ‘Boiler’ is one of Diving‘s weightier moments, lead Dan Forrest’s vocals emerging from a crushing rumble. Though just as the sound threatens to be overwhelming, Forrest manages to climb to the surface, surfing the dense textures if not to safety then at least an end more dignified and thrilling. For this is a song about finding transcendence amid contemporary doom. Freeing oneself from the dreadful confines of the physical moment. Not beating the looming disaster, but submitting to the eventual freedom it might offer.
Drowned in salty black depths
Overworked and gasping for breath
But, as the flames grow
And the water’s almost boiled
Though it seems no different
You can leave this state behindPushing towards your critical temp
Molecules break free from their vessel
Free to float upwards and go anywhere you’d like
Free to diffuse into thin air you’ll intertwine
Today we have the pleasure of unveiling a music video for ‘Boiler’. Animated and edited by Philadelphia-area illustrator/sewist/educator Natalia Navarra, the video sees the track’s lyrical themes manifest in monochrome stop-motion. Check it out below!
Diving is out now on Crafted Sounds and you can get it from the Buddie Bandcamp page. There are a handful of cassettes left too, so grab one before they’re gone.
Band photo by Ashley Cordoba