On September 29, Nashville heavy duo Friendship Commanders will release their third album MASS, a concept record about memory, language, and the state of Massachusetts (pre-order). The project was written after the suicide of songwriter Buick Audra’s longtime friend, fellow musician Marc Orleans (Sunburned Hand of the Man, Spore, Juneau, Enos Slaughter).
The ten-track body of work will be accompanied by a memoir in essays by Buick Audra. The album and essay collection present a series of true stories, snapshots of experiences that Buick lived through and has come back to address.
Today the band respectfully presents their new single “Fail,” both in memory of Marc Orleans and in honor of new clarity. Death can prompt many things: grief, anger, and even understanding. For Buick Audra, it also prompted introspection. The journey inward was so profound, it inspired the writing of the entire album.
“Fail” and its accompanying video debuted today at Metal Injection and it will be on all streaming platforms on Friday for any playlist shares.
Buick Audra says: “I was in my late teens/early twenties when I first met Marc. We were both playing in bands and making art in Boston. Our friendship was so easy and uncomplicated, and when I look back at that time, I realize how rare that was for me then. The rest of my story up there was intense and even traumatizing. His death has brought me an unbelievable amount of grief, but also the confirmation that I knew and loved him when he was here—and I sure as hell hope that he felt known by me in his lifetime. Losing him has made me aware of who I want to be to the people I actually care about, and who I want to spend less energy on. It’s been illuminating in a number of ways, but mostly, I just miss him. I respect his decision to die, but I might be sad about it for the rest of my days. I wrote this song to speak to him from here.”
The band’s drummer/bassist and video director Jerry Roe adds, “I met Buick after nearly all of the events, times, and places that inspired this album took place, but I’ve come to know the stories intimately and it felt very special to bring these songs about them to life. Musically, I’ve never felt more at home. This new body of work combines all of the things I love most. It’s heavy, very melodic, intensely emotional, and somehow simultaneously fun and heartbreaking. Very proud of what we all made together from Buick’s work. In making the video, I wanted to honor all of those things, while respecting him and his decision to leave.”
“Fail” follows “Blue,” a track about finally finding language for what you want to say, the thesis statement of MASS. The cover for “Fail” is a collage of Buick as a teenager at Walden Pond, and Marc’s hands and resonator guitar. The images are upside-down to reflect the unmooring impact of his passing.
While the forthcoming album is autobiographical, it invites the listener to ask themselves about what they understand of their past, and how that knowledge colors their present.
The artwork for MASS and its related singles was done by Buick Audra using the cyanotype printing method, a process chosen to illustrate how her memories have been colored by trauma, all blue. A limited edition of hand-numbered and signed cyanotype prints will be made available with the album, as well as an essay collection by Buick Audra (MASS: Essays on Memory, Language, & the State of Massachusetts), prose that further explores the narratives and themes of the music.
The band co-produced MASS with Kurt Ballou (Converge) who recorded and mixed at his GodCity studio in Salem, Massachusetts. This decision was intentional, and the product bears the impact of the in-person collaboration, sonically and energetically. This project marks their third year of working with Ballou who has mixed everything they’ve released since their 2020 EP, HOLD ON TO YOURSELF.
