Kevin Bronson on July 8th, 2014

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When Buddy refers to his music as “wimpycore,” we think he’s talking in the past tense. Maybe his long-ago EP of sparse singer-songwriter fare qualifies, or “Alterations & Repairs,” the 2007 release that saw Buddy become a band. But certainly not “Last Call for the Quiet Life,” the long-awaited, long-fretted-over follow-up. Conceived and recorded with buddy Will Golden, “Last Call” (due Aug. 16) is a fully realized orchestral pop record, lush and evocative, recalling at times the work of Cardinal’s Eric Matthews. To hear Buddy (the singer) explain it, “Last Call” arrived after a healthy amount of soul-searching; he scrapped the initial follow-up to “Alterations” (releasing some of the songs on a 2012 EP) before his collaboration with Golden started to bear fruit. The album, which includes guest turns from Michelle Branch, Cary Brothers and Holly Conlan, got a final mix from Phil Ek in Seattle. It has that certain glow – if this is what constitutes wimpy, then to hell with being strong.

||| Stream: “Weak Currents”

Photo by Graham Kurzner