Bio
Forever the songwriting outlet of Philadelphian Dan Forrest, Buddie is a 3-piece band now based in Vancouver, BC, Canada that writes fuzzy, poppy, rock songs about environmental and social justice and simply trying to be a good person.
After the success of LP1
Diving (2020), which featured critical nods from Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp, WXPN and many others, the band returned to the studio to record all of the music that had been brewing since recording their first album. The next batch of songs, nearly 20 in total, was recorded with a sense of urgency in mid-2021 as Dan Forrest moved to Vancouver shortly after to begin a graduate degree in sustainability.
Since the move, Dan has reassembled the band, performed at festivals Music Waste and Sled Island (opening for Built to Spill), and even did a live session at radio station CiTR 101.9 FM. Buddie also shared the 4-song EP
Transplant in December 2022 to formally introduce themselves to the Vancouver scene. They celebrated its release by sharing a bill with Dead Soft (Arts & Crafts) and were even recognized on “The Eh! List,” curated by Exclaim!
Buddie will be releasing LP2
Agitator this April. Central themes or the album revolve around healthy communication, trust, anxiety, living in the moment, sense of place, joy in resistance, growth, change, dystopia, classism, mutual aid, among other things. Al Menne of Great Grandpa provided harmonizing vocals on a handful of tracks including lead single “We’ll Never Break,” a heartwarming track about trust and reassurance in relationships. Other singles “Worried” and “Class Warfare” are rooted more in pandemic anxiety and modern classism as the world around us continues to change rapidly. Needless to say, Buddie is back doing Buddie things, and
Agitator is packed full of earworm choruses, “loud-quiet-loud,” bubblegrunge, and 90s influenced indie rock. We hope you dig it.
Notable Mentions
“Poppy, tender, chord driven indie with tasty lead guitar lines (reminiscent at times of Built to Spill, who they opened for!) and sentimental harmonies. The band exuded a casual sense of fun and enjoyment that was immediately infectious.”
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Post-Trash
“The four-song EP continues Buddie’s distinct, sincere sound that’s both fuzzy and poppy and lands somewhere between a softer version of 90s indie rock groups like Built to Spill and a more rough-around-the-edges version of straight power pop.”
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Rosy Overdrive
“In truth, Buddie makes 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.”
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Various Small Flames
“Heartfelt indie rock from Philadelphia’s Buddie wraps the sincerest of sentiments in big, colorful choruses.”
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Bandcamp - New and Notable
“Diving hits plenty of indie-rock pleasure centers.”
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WXPN - The Key
“DIVING rips.”
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Merry-Go-Round Magazine