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# Buick Audra
- URL: https://www.analogue.io/interviews/buick-audra/
- Published: 2025-07-07T07:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2025-07-19T16:35:36.000Z
- Description: Buick Audra is ready for a busy year with two releases filled with deeply personal work.
- Author: Analogue
- Tags: Interviews, Buick Audra, Matt Conner, #Import 2026-11-12 21:02, #color-silver, #blend-multiply

*By* [*Matt Conner*](https://www.analogue.io/tag/matt-conner/)

**Buick Audra is used to working in more than one lane.**

As half of the heavy rock duo Friendship Commanders and as a solo artist, Audra moves between sounds and settings with intention. Her new solo album, *Adult Child (*released June 13) is a personal yet powerful record that explores the oft-unhealthy patterns we carry forward.

Written and produced by Audra, *Adult Child* leans into vulnerability with stripped-down arrangements and honest storytelling. In this conversation with Analogue, she talks about the process behind *it all*, what it means to make space for both her solo work and the band, and how recovery and reflection shaped the music along the way.

**Analogue: I went to listen to the album and as soon as I heard "The Worst People Win," it felt like an immediate, “Oh, this is great.” It just works. Was it obvious to you that it’d kick things off?**

**Buick Audra:** Yes. It was the first song recorded for the record, and I’ve always loved it. It’s catchy, swirly, and those choruses are really melodic—almost pretty—but there’s also some dark stuff in there. I love that juxtaposition. Even before *Adult Child* was a full album, I knew "The Worst People Win" would start it.

**Analogue: Did that song feel like a turning point creatively? Did it shape what came next?**

**Buick Audra:** Actually, the first song written was “Questions for the Gods of Human Behavior.” I recorded both on the same day, about a month apart. I thought I’d do a short EP, but I ended up writing 18 songs. Only eight made the cut, those that best reflected my current musical leanings and the emotional arc I wanted: family dynamics, relationship patterns, that kind of thing.

> "Most of my albums are concept records. I’m usually trying to untangle a specific emotional or psychological knot."

**Analogue: Do you often write in these kinds of bursts?**

**Buick Audra:** Yes. Both with this solo project and my band [Friendship Commanders](https://www.friendshipcommandersband.com/?ref=analogue.io), I tend to write in flurries. Most of my albums are concept records. I’m usually trying to untangle a specific emotional or psychological knot.

**Analogue: What’s that knot for *Adult Child*?**

**Buick Audra:** While it’s framed around family, the real tension is how those patterns affect my other relationships. I grew up being the “hero child” and later became the “black sheep.” That shift shaped how I relate to people—taking every invitation, sharing too much too fast. “Questions for the Gods of Human Behavior” was really about confronting those tendencies and asking myself, am I repeating the same patterns I didn’t want done to me?

**Analogue: That sounds like deep internal work. Has that come through therapy?**

**Buick Audra:** More through recovery. I’ve been in Al-Anon for a long time, and that’s helped me understand myself more clearly—not just behaviors, but the thoughts that lead to them. I’ve had to ask, what’s my role in the dynamics I keep falling into?

**Analogue: And then you’re navigating that personal work while engaging with the marketplace—promotion, branding, all of it.**

**Buick Audra:** That’s the hardest part. I was raised by musicians, so there was this confusing mix of “of course you’ll be talented” and “don’t make a big deal out of it.” I wasn’t allowed to take up space. It’s still difficult, but I’ve learned to stand for the work. Even when I can’t stand for myself, I can stand for the work.

**Analogue: That feels like a huge win.**

**Buick Audra:** It really is. I’ve done much better with this record. Though it took me over a decade to finally frame and hang my Grammy. One parent told me not to celebrate because it would make others feel bad. Another said, “Well, it’s a start.” So yeah—I'm learning to undo those messages.

**Analogue: You mentioned both this project and Friendship Commanders. How does one influence the other?**

**Buick Audra:** They’ve always coexisted. Sometimes a song just tells me where it belongs. Kurt Ballou, who mixes a lot of Friendship Commanders’ work, also mixed *Adult Child*. He knows my voice better than anyone, and this record is so vocal-forward. Even though it’s not sonically heavy like FC, he knew exactly how to place everything.

**Analogue: Was it always going to be a vocal-heavy record?**

**Buick Audra:** Not at all. Originally, I imagined a scrappy indie rock EP, but in the middle of tracking, my friend Steve Albini passed away. That moment of grief shifted things. I was recording “Yellow” when it happened, and I ended up layering my own vocals in this kind of musical solidarity. From there, it evolved. I realized the voice would be the primary instrument and leaned into it.

**Analogue: You mentioned writing 18 tracks. What happens to the songs that don’t make the cut?**

**Buick Audra:** I demo and archive them. I’ve written somewhere between 350 and 380 songs, so I try to keep everything organized: lyrics, tunings, notations. Some might resurface later, but usually the ones that don’t make the album are what I call process songs—they helped me work something out, but they don’t haunt me the way the others do.

**Analogue: What’s ahead for Friendship Commanders and your solo work?**

**Buick Audra:** There's a new Friendship Commanders album coming this year. So yeah, I made two records last year, and both are out this year. I’m also touring *Adult Child* solo electric between FC’s commitments. It’s a full schedule.

**Analogue: Is that fulfilling? Being able to shift gears like that?**

**Buick Audra:** Absolutely. It’s wild to move between projects, but also refreshing. I care deeply about both. I was proofreading FC lyrics just before this conversation and had to remind myself, “Right, I’m doing this, too.” It’s not always easy, but it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. I try to hold onto that truth.

**Analogue: Any rest on the horizon?**

**Buick Audra:** Not until December, but touring has its own rhythm. It forces me to be present. There’s something restful in that focus, even if the body is tired.

**VISIT:** [**Buick Audra**](https://www.buickaudra.com/?ref=analogue.io)

*Photo: Anna Haas*