Buddy Junior – Portal CS (Cherub Dream Records)

Buddy Junior is a San Francisco based shoegaze pop group comprised of Jared LeNar, who works in collaboration with Harvey LeNar. Monika Jang fills in for all the drumming duties, while the group constantly switches the members on synths. The group previously released a debut single-sided debut EP named Marietta, comprised of five ear-appealing tunes. One year later, the band is more than ready to move on with another compelling recording that properly suits contemporary music trends. Buddy Junior carries enough melodies along the way to instantly overwhelm your listening apparatus, and their sense of writing beautiful numbers is unquestionably notable.

Their full-length debut named Portal serves as a profoundly emotional catalyst that transcends calmy ambiance all the way through. Buddy Junior carefully prepared eleven compelling numbers that are bursting with absolutely dominant shoegaze ambiance, but as it usually may be the case, the group doesn’t stop there. Besides shoegaze, Portal carries the essential elements of emo, gloomy pop, dream pop, indie pop, indie rock, post-rock, and post-punk. These essentials are merged into compact sonic articulations, positively charged with thoughtfully composed guitar melodies and precise rhythmical sequences. Each composition grasps all the qualities of the beforementioned genres, and Buddy Junior handles with these polyphonous maneuvers with such ease.

The soothing melodies are providing an enormous dosage of positive vibrations, but the group has its moments when they explore more melancholic regions. Synths are helping out a lot by contributing layers upon layers of shoegazey atmospherics that are sometimes resembling the best years for post-punk music. The sound continuously levitates somewhere between the eighties goth-pop music and contemporary shoegaze articulations, while the remaining portion of genres is enhancing the overall listening experience during the album. Both Jared and Harvey are playing crucial roles throughout the album with their soothing vocal abilities. Their vocals are adapting according to the current mood, and you may notice a perfect balance between calmy chants and high-pitched singalongs.

Portal will unquestionably suit the admirers of the abovementioned genres, who’re looking out for a more lo-fi indie sound. This album carries a lot of qualities of shoegaze pop, emo, indie, and post-punk music. However, you’ll probably notice even more experimentations with sound while listening to this interesting material. Their version of echoic gloomy melancholy will amaze you in every possible way. Portal is available on a limited edition cassette by Cherub Dream Records, so check out their web store and support their work.