Buddy System Indeed
Making Friends, Making Sweaters
Buddy System Indeed take their pleasant indie-pop to a new level on their sophomore effort, Making Friends, Making Sweaters. While I enjoyed their debut disc, Small Talk, earlier this year, I did have qualms with singer Isaac Lekach’s monotone vocals. Thankfully, he’s much more upbeat and melodic this time out, and the difference really shows – in fact, the band re-recorded a few of the better tracks off Small Talk, and the new versions are superior in every case. Fuller production makes for a bigger sound, too, which helps considerably. That’s not to say that this is all a rehash, either – most of the tunes here are new, and stand up with the best of the re-recorded tracks – check out the bouncy “To an Awkward State” and the jangly “A Wonderboy’s Dream,” for just two examples. And the tracks featuring guest vocalist Rocky Ordoñez are a special treat, especially “Chivalry Returns,” on which her voice blends with Lekach’s quite nicely. In all, Buddy System Indeed are progressing nicely, and if you liked the first record, you’ll be impressed with how far they’ve come.
