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Vundabar

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Vundabar
Vundabar playing at Le Confort Moderne in Poitiers, France in 2014.
Background information
OriginBoston, Massachusetts
Genres
Years active2012–present
LabelsGawk
Members
  • Brandon Hagen
  • Drew McDonald
  • Zack Abramo
Websitewww.vundabar.biz

Vundabar is an American indie rock band from Boston, Massachusetts. The band consists of Brandon Hagen (vocals, guitar), Drew McDonald (drums, synthesizer), and Zack Abramo (bass).

Vundabar released their first full-length album in 2013 titled Antics.[2] In 2015, Vundabar released their second full-length album titled Gawk.[3][4] In 2017, Vundabar performed at the Boston Calling Music Festival.[5] In February 2018, Vundabar released their third full-length album titled Smell Smoke which was recorded by Keith Abrams at Headroom Studios in Philadelphia.[6][7][8] In March 2020, Vundabar released their fourth album Either Light.[9] Vundabar released their fifth full-length album Devil for the Fire on 15 April 2022.[10]

On September 16, 2022 they released their sixth full-length album Good Old, which consisted of seven songs recorded between the releases of Gawk and Smell Smoke and four acoustic versions of previously released songs. On May 5, 2023 they released the singles "Digital Forest" and "Sugar Pill".

Band history

Before Vundabar, Brandon Hagen and Drew McDonald were in a band called No Nada with a few school friends.[11] [12] The band lasted from around 2009-2012, when they separated because multiple members were leaving for college. Some of the old songs have been found by fans through Hagen's now retired SoundCloud[13] and through other sources. Vundabar was originally just Hagen and McDonald, with fluctuating bassists. When McDonald was attending college he met Zack Abramo. McDonald introduced him to Hagen and they soon incoorporated Abramo fully as bassist. In 2013 they released their debut full-length album titled Antics.[2] They adopted a more gritty tone on their second album Gawk in 2015, which added a more post-punk sound to the mix.[1]

In June-2016, a new member of the band was present in an interview.[14] The former bassist, Zack Abramo, left the band to work on his own music group, being the lead vocalist and guitarist for Crag Mask. Vundabar's new bass player was Grayson Kirtland. He continued to appear in live shows and interviews until late 2018, when the band tweeted about their next show, in which Abramo would be joining them again.[15]

In 2018 their third studio-album was released titled “Smell Smoke” originally titled “Crack Mask” according to an interview with Audiotree. For their fourth album Either Light they changed their style and their songwriting technique. Hagen revealed in an interview with Allston Pudding that they wrote much of the songs on piano or synthesizer instead of guitar.[16] The album featured jangle elements on a few songs and different instrumentation such as synths, vibraphone or acoustic guitar. In 2021 their song "Alien Blues" went viral on TikTok and has since been streamed almost 600 million times on Spotify. In 2022 Vundabar released their fifth album titled Devil for the Fire and their sixth album, Good Old, was released in September of the same year. Good Old was a compilation of songs that were originally created between Gawk and Smell Smoke.

On May 5, 2023, they released two new singles, "Digital Forest" and "Sugar Pill."

On June 25, 2024, the single "I Got Cracked" would be released, and on October 10th, 2024, a second single titled Life Is A Movie came out.

Musical style

Their musical style is described as indie rock with elements of post-punk, jangle pop and surf rock.[1] Allmusic describes their style as "jangly, fuzzed-out math- and surf-tinged indie rock shot through with plenty of post-punk spirit".[17]

As influences, the band named Dick Dale, singer Brandon Hagen also named the Osees, bassist Zack Abramo named electronic music such as Burial, and drummer Drew McDonald named Tame Impala.[18]

On their first three albums, Vundabar mainly played their music on guitar, bass and drums. On their albums Either Light and Devil for the Fire, they also used synthesizers, electronic drum sounds and other instruments like piano or Omnichord.[19]

Gawk Records

In an interview with Sound of Boston, McDonald explains that the band started a cassette label named Gawk Records in order to avoid financial pressures of signing to a label and to foster a community of artists.[20] The record label has also released a self-titled EP by the Philadelphia band Straw Hats in 2016, and co-released the self titled album by the band Horse Jumper of Love in 2016. Both of these releases are on the label's Bandcamp. [21]

Band members

Current

  • Brandon Hagen (vocals, guitar)
  • Zack Abramo (bass, background vocals)
  • Drew McDonald (drums, synthesizer)[19]

Past

  • Grayson Kirtland (bass, background vocals)

Discography

Studio albums

  • Antics (2013)
  • Gawk (2015)
  • Smell Smoke (2018)
  • Either Light (2020)
  • Devil for the Fire (2022)

Compilation albums

EPs

  • Vundabar on Audiotree Live (2017)
  • “Vundabar”(2014)
  • “Devil for the fire”(2022)

Singles

"Alien Blues" redirects here. Not to be confused with Alien Blue.
  • "Vundabar" (2014)
  • "Shuffle" (2017)
  • "Acetone" (2017)
  • "Atlantin" (2020)
  • "Devil for the Fire" (2021)
  • "Alien Blues (Redux)" (2022)
  • "Digital Forest / Sugar Pill" (2023)
  • "I Got Cracked" (2024)
  • "I Got Cracked (Busted)" (2024)
  • "I Got Cracked (Yot Club Version)" (2024)
  • "Life is a Movie" (2024)

References

  1. ^ a b c "Vundabar Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  2. ^ a b Kaye, Ben (20 July 2015). "Stream: Vundabar's sophomore album Gawk". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  3. ^ Palmedo, Tree. "Vundabar Turn Up the Summer Heat on 'Oulala'". Spin. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  4. ^ Ambler, Charlie. "Vundabar Are Best Friends Who Make Good Post-Punk". Vice. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  5. ^ Marketti, Anna (25 May 2017). "Local Spotlight: Vundabar". Sound of Boston.
  6. ^ "Vundabar on Internalized Shame, the Cost of Dying, & Their New Album Smell Smoke". 22 January 2018.
  7. ^ Rettig, James (19 February 2018). "Stream Vundabar Smell Smoke". Stereogum. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  8. ^ Maicki, Salvatore. "Listen to Vundabar's new album Smell Smoke". The Fader. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  9. ^ Bacior, Robin (16 January 2020). "Vundabar announce new album Either Light, North American tour dates". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  10. ^ Rettig, James (2021-11-09). "Vundabar – "Devil For The Fire"". Stereogum. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  11. ^ "No Nada Facebook". Facebook. No Nada. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  12. ^ Ruth Thompson (July 12, 2012). "Situate teens hit all the right notes". Wickedlocal.com. Wicked Local. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  13. ^ "Brandon Hagen Soundcloud". SoundCloud.com. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  14. ^ "Vundabar Interview (Memorial Day Concert)". YouTube. KCPR. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  15. ^ "Vundabar on Twitter". twitter. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  16. ^ "INTERVIEW: Vundabar's "Either Light" at the End of the Tunnel". 24 April 2020.
  17. ^ "Vundabar Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  18. ^ "This is Not a LiVE Song Ferarock Sessions - VUNDABAR". YouTube.
  19. ^ a b "Vundabar sings "Lore"". YouTube.
  20. ^ Marketti, Anna (25 May 2017). "Local Spotlight: Vundabar". Sound of Boston. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  21. ^ "Gawk Records Bandcamp". Bandcamp. Gawk Records. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  22. ^ "Vundabar - Time (Official Visualizer)". YouTube.
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