Music Review: Vundabar Teases a New Album, Out in March

Three New Singles Released

Music Review: Vundabar Teases a New Album, Out in March

An Image of Vundabar Via Loma Vista RecordingsVundabar is an indie rock band best known for their top track, “Alien Blues,” which currently has over 600 million streams on Spotify. Renowned for its unique sound, Vundabar began publishing music in 2013 with its first album, Antics. In March 2025, the band will release its seventh album, Surgery and Pleasure. Having already released three tracks as singles, this album will feature eleven songs in total.

The first track the band released in June 2024 was “I Got Cracked”. Vundabar is well known for producing music with an airy and upbeat tone, and this song is no exception in maintaining this unique soundscape. The guitars and drums are fast paced but creatively form a powerful energy that pervades throughout the song. The lyrics are about going through tough times and growing stronger as a result. The band previously shared how this song is based on life events that occurred during one of their tours: in a short period, the lead singer Brandon Hagen left a long-term relationship, broke his arm, and lost his father. These, happening all at once, became a whirlwind of issues that Brandon and the band needed to work through while still performing and traveling. The influence of these events is evident through the lyrics “And I broke my heart, and I broke my arm, and I spread some ashes,” which is sung repeatedly throughout the chorus of the song. The lyrics go on to state “I got cracked so I can’t get broke no more,” seemingly implying that after all the difficulties causing cracks, a prevailing toughness and strength was built, preventing further “breaks” or emotional hardship in the future. This song is very well composed, and, as the first single released, it is a great song that sticks to the loved and unique indie sound Vundabar has developed. The lead singer has described this album as a newer, more grown-up version of the band’s sound. This song acts as a great gateway into this new sound by demonstrating what was previously the signature sound of Vundabar to set up the transition into this evolution.

A still from the “I Got Cracked” Music Video Via YouTube

“Life is a Movie” was the second released single which came out in October 2024. A very different release for Vundabar, it exemplifies the new, more mature sound the band mentioned. While “I Got Cracked” sticks to the band’s typical indie rock sound, “Life is a Movie” branches out in a newer and unique take on the indie genre. The contrast between these two songs acts as a real-time demonstration of the past and the future of the band evolving through musical styles. The guitar is much slower in tempo and heavier sounding. Similarly, the drums follow a more spaced-out and powerful beat. While these instrumental differences are noticeable, the vocals are where the true difference in sound stands. Most of Vundabar’s vocals are performed in a dragged-out and relaxed way that almost feels careless, while these lyrics are performed in a spoken-word tone with a punch of strength. The lyrics of the song touch on the concept of wishing life was simple, like a movie, despite not being as straightforward to understand. Some of the pre-chorus lyrics state “Here comes thе punchline, here comes the grace, here comes the part where we go off our face, here comes the lesson, here comes the light, here comes the beacon in the night”. These lyrics emphasize how in movies there is often a predictable chain of events. At the end of the film’s rising action, there is commonly some sort of light, lesson, or grace that frees the hero of the story from their predominant struggle. In life, however, there are not always these saving forces to aid someone in their time of need. Life would be much simpler if these same plot-driven forces were there to jump in during dire situations, but it just is not reality. “Life is a Movie” does a great job of conveying this theme, and the spoken-word style of vocals matches the song’s tone perfectly. Overall, it was interesting to see a different style of song from Vundabar. Hopefully some of the strength of this fresh sound will continue to prevail throughout the rest of the album release.

Vundabar’s “Life is a Movie” cover art Via Spotify

The final single released to date just came out on January 16. “Spades” keeps up the quick-paced and energetic feeling that the band typically releases with stuttery and quick guitar. It meshes with some of the newer sound elements of the band’s evolution but does not fully exclude their previous signature sound in the same way as “Life is a Movie”. Since the theme of the song revolves around paranoia, an anxious and jittery beat perfectly encompasses this mood. While the primary motivation of this song is harder to discern using the few frequently repeated lyrics there are, the song seems to focus on the experience of being in the public eye. The primary chorus lyrics that are repeated frequently state “I’m watching you watching me” likely referring to the feeling of being in the public eye with fans. Another lyric that stood out prominently was “Everybody’s asking but nobody knows the question”. These lyrics are likely commenting on how the masses tend to blindly follow and repeat what they hear in the media sphere without questioning the reasoning behind the information. This song did not feel like it had the same strength and intrigue as the other two singles, however, it is still a well-executed song that matches the mood set by the previous single releases.

Vundabar Tour Poster Via the Posters Artist, Virtualflesh, on Instagram

The three released tracks off of the Surgery and Pleasure album can be streamed today on most music platforms. The complete album releasing March 7, 2025, can be pre-saved and pre-purchased on various sites. Merchandise can also be pre-ordered including vinyl, CDs, and clothing. One real standout piece of merchandise available is a forest green tee shirt with a motif stating “Vlive, Vlaugh, Vlove, Vundabar” which is a clever and comedic play on the commonly joked about “Live, Laugh, Love” quote. The band is currently on tour with several American venues and one Canadian stop in Vancouver on March 26 of this year. All dates and ticket sales can be found on Vundabar’s website.