Vundabar is a Boston-based trio that delivers jangly, fuzzed-out math- and surf-tinged indie rock shot through with post-punk spirit.
Formed in 2013 by vocalist/guitarist Brandon Hagen and drummer Drew McDonald while still in high school, the duo eventually recruited bassist Zack Abramo and began playing locally. Sporting a melody-rich blend of knotty folk and loud-soft-loud indie rock a la Beantown luminaries
Pixies, the band issued their debut album, Antics, in late 2003. They adopted a grittier tone on 2015's
Gawk, which added grungey post-punk to the mix. The cathartic and dense Smell Smoke arrived in 2018, delivering an earworm-heavy set that was both bracing and sincere, and in 2020 the trio released their tight and succinct fourth full-length effort,
Either Light, which saw them working with a producer,
Patrick Hyland (
Mitski), for the first time. ~ James Christopher Monger