Nashville’s heavy melodic duo Friendship Commanders are making a thunderous return with their fourth full length release, BEAR, out via their new label home, Magnetic Eye Records. The album was co-produced by the band’s own Buick Audra (vocals, guitars) and Jerry Roe (drums, bass), alongside their longtime creative partner Kurt Ballou.
Written by Audra, BEAR emerged from a realization that she had been quietly excluded from traditional womanhood, if she had ever truly belonged to it. Through this work, she explores the landscapes where human connection still thrives, such as art scenes, outsider circles, and dark rock clubs where empathy and imagination run free. Audra and Roe shaped the record to reflect dualities, balancing weight and lightness.
The latest single and video, DRAIN, exemplifies this tension perfectly. It's a grunge-driven anthem that channels emotional intensity through melodic heaviness.
“‘DRAIN’ asks a question I’ve always wanted to know the answer to: ‘how are you living like this?’” says Audra. “It’s about people who take parts of your story and wear them as their own. Musically, it’s one of the heaviest songs on the record and one of my favorite vocal performances.”
“We made the video ourselves,” adds Roe. “It’s a callback to how this chapter of our band began with just the two of us making everything from scratch.”
On the entire album, Audra unfolds: “I’ve spent my life feeling like an outsider. That can be cool in some contexts but isolating in others. Writing these songs helped me pinpoint where I’ve been a misfit and where I’ve always belonged. Being on the outside can be beautiful, and now I’m glad to be here. This is our boldest work yet, and I hope it finds whoever needs it. To anyone on the margins: you always belong with us.”
“I feel like we’ve done everything I’ve ever wanted to do within the bounds of heavy melodic rock on this record,” says Roe. “We pushed the arrangements into adventurous, expansive places, nailed our tones and performances, and Kurt captured it all perfectly. If this were the last record I ever made, I’d feel I said and did everything I wanted to as a musician.”
ZR