Buddy by Stay Mad

Stay Mad is Mic Adams’ venture into frontman territory, while still conducting from behind the kit. Adams is a drummer and collaborator, most notably in indie-pop group The Ophelias. Buddy, Adams’ debut solo album, places him squarely in the spotlight with a backing band of friends and collaborators from across his hometown of Cincinnati. The songs are complicated; packed with thoughts that dart around as quickly as the genres within each track change. Buddy is situated at the cross section of math rock, folk, radio-style adult contemporary, and even jazz (if you squint).

Buddy’s nine tracks traverse Adams’ anxiety, self-doubt, and ultimate acceptance of the shifting interpersonal dynamics that have shaped the last few years of his life. “You know it’s alright / to do what feels best for you / but still, you compromise” he sings in “Marsh”. Buddy takes these feelings and contorts them into strung-together images: tumbleweeds, metal slats, broken capacitors, cold sweat, his dog Honey. The imagery in the songs is tangible and distinctly Midwestern, as Adams’ language often turns to the industrial.

Adams, a trans man, delicately explores an instance of comparison to a partner’s cisgender ex in “Friendly,” singing “I don’t even know him / but he’s the main character in my dreams / i’m scrolling too far back / and testing my limits / how many years will it take this time?” Earlier in the song Adams lays his emotions bare, sighing, “I want to be a good person / and work on my patience” as distorted guitars swell around him. Transness isn’t the focus of the record, but it colors his experiences over the period of time in which Buddy takes place – feelings of displacement and nuanced relationships appear in Adams’ 28-minute quest for moral goodness.

hello I'm mic (he/him)

just a drummer