For Forrest, the songwriting has evolved alongside the world around them. “Different music has become interesting and political climates have changed and that affects what people are writing and listening to. Vancouver has its own sound and scene.”

Forrest often brings the initial idea—“the essence of a song – chords, lyrics, melody”—before the group develops it collaboratively. Farrugia’s process complements that: “For me, it’s either I bring a singular riff or almost a whole song… I’m gonna make the bass and drum part extremely basic so that Lindsay and Nat can do what they do best.” Together, they value range. As Farrugia puts it: “It’d be boring to make an album that’s one sound all the way through.” Partin adds, “It should always be cohesive in some way.”

Their new album, Glass, began almost by accident. When applying for grant funding, Buddie learned they weren’t eligible because they had no recorded work in Canada. “We decided to get something out there to make us eligible for these grants,” Glubb says. “We had planned to just put a single out, but we couldn’t decide which one, so we wound up tracking eight songs.”

The album grew into a fully hands-on project—recorded across a studio, their jam space, and Farrugia’s bedroom, with the band handling mixing, mastering, and visual work themselves. “This really feels like it was a cohesive group effort from start to finish,” Forrest says. “Here are a group of songs that exist in this place and time.”

Lyrically, Forrest continues to unpack themes central to Buddie’s identity. “There’s always been this addressing of deep inequities, environmental issues, social justice issues, and then layered in there is my personal experience.” Farrugia echoes that feeling musically: “The stuff that we write reflects that… what that feels like just comes out through what’s being written musically.” But Glubb notes the band’s emotional spectrum is wide: “Sometimes you’re like, ‘oh, the world’s a horrible place. I wanna listen to heavy music.’ But then sometimes you’re like, ‘I want something poppy to lift my spirits.’”

Living in Vancouver shapes the band as much as their influences. Forrest connects the themes of a recent video to the city itself: “Creating a little world in this weird individualistic society that we have and imagining an escape.” He adds, “Something that has been so important since moving here is building an intentional community… in a city where cost of living is really high, politics are Ken Sim-cop-city type of shit, and yet there still persists art and culture somehow and that takes basically people that care a lot.”

Forrest sees Vancouver’s scene as collaborative rather than competitive: “A lot of mixed genre bills, a lot of mixed demographic bills. That just feels really nice.”

Touring behind Glass has offered the band moments of connection—and nerdiness. “It’s really fun meeting new bands,” Partin says. Plans include a “dino day” in Drumheller, which Farrugia enthusiastically defends: “There’s a lot of discoveries there, mostly complete skeletons… It’s just really cool ecological-wise.”

They’d like to tour the U.S., but costs are prohibitive. “We got invited to play a fest called New Colossus,” Forrest says, “but we need a visa… seven and a half months of a wait… $30,000 if you want it sooner.” For now, the focus is writing with intention. “How can we write the coolest songs we can?” Forrest says. “Taking our time, curating that, being intentional… figuring that out as a unit.”

In a city where art is both pressured and persistent, Glass stands as a testament to Buddie’s care, collaboration, and refusal to be discouraged. It captures the tension between heaviness and hope, the realities of modern Vancouver, and the collective spirit that keeps the city’s sacred music scene alive.

Catch Buddie performing live at Unreal City Fest (Vancouver, BC) Jan. 15 to 17, 2026, and at the Jo Passed album release show at The Pearl (Vancouver, BC) on Jan. 22, 2026.