On January 15, Ely Buendia announced the release of his sophomore solo album, Method Adaptor, on vinyl LP, CD, and cassette via Offshore Music.
Fifteen years since his debut solo album Wanted: Bedspacer, Method Adaptor unpacks what Buendia calls “the most emotionally taxing songwriting” he’s ever done, according to an interview with Rolling Stone Philippines. A play on the term “method actor,” referring to those who go through great emotional lengths to get into character, the album sees Buendia breaking conventions of his production and songwriting. It showcases a range that pays testament to his three decades of experience as an artist as he recounts navigating personal challenges.
“The perennial frontman writes in the language of his own mythos. But even in a familiar terrain, he scrupulously forages for emotional truths deeper than ever before… This oeuvre is a sprawl of metaphors that thrive in paradoxes: plainspoken but shrewd, impenetrable but expressive, well-timed but far from novel — yet all lucid, befitting a 54-year-old sage,” writes an album review by Rolling Stone Philippines.
A Nostalgic Medium
Buendia’s penchant for storytelling makes him one of the most celebrated musicians in the Philippines. In 1989, together with guitarist Marcos Adoro, bassist Buddy Zabala, and drummer Raimund Marasigan, he formed Eraserheads, which saw widespread success before disbanding in 2002.
The succeeding musical groups where Buendia was a frontman helped him pursue collaborations that blended melodic pop sensibilities with a tireless sense of invention — whether through the genre-bending Pupil, the rockabilly-influenced The Oktaves, or the groovy funk and soul of Apartel.
The physical release of Method Adaptor follows a tradition by Buendia to “stay true to the physical formats” he’s used for his music in the past. In 2019, Buendia’s record label Offshore Music and Sony Music Philippines released a 25th anniversary reissue of Eraserheads’ debut album Ultraelectromagneticpop!, remastered by Grammy award-winning audio engineer Bernie Grundman, who has worked on classic albums by artists like Michael Jackson, Prince, and Kendrick Lamar.
In December 2024, Offshore Music also issued a vinyl LP of DIMENSIONS, a live compilation album featuring ena mori, Mt. Lewis, Carousel Casualties, Elton Clark, Pinkmen, GundamFunk, Ligaya Escueta, and ALYSON.
Method Adaptor is available for pre-order until February 15, 12 p.m. on Diggers Factory.