Vundabar’s Guide To Boston – clashmusic.com

Vundabar have always been difficult to peg. Guitar music that is both penetrative and awkwardly out of sync with the conduits that surround it, they are often pegged as post-punk, perhaps due to the experimentation that forms a key part of their creative practise.
New album ‘Surgery and Pleasure’ is out now on Loma Vista Recordings, and it is – according to singer Brandon Hagen – “grown-up Vundabar”.
In practise, that involves working with intention, and finding renewed vigour within the songwriting. Emotive without being lachrymose, introspective without losing sight of the exterior, it’s a powerful work, one that will be followed by a rare European tour.
A key part of the Boston music scene, Vundabar speak to the city’s idiosyncratic creative communities, its willingness to step outwith the norm.
Writing for CLASH, Vundabar pick out the key places to shop, eat, drink, and party in their home city.
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Hello we’re Vundabar and this is our ideal day in Boston from dawn to dusk. For morning affairs we would grab our coffee from either Nine Bar Espresso in Somerville or Barismo in Cambridge. For Barismo we would recommend the hot draft coffee, which uses a wild draft coffee system they created themselves, and for Nine Bar their espresso drinks. If you’re feeling peckish you could go to Jim’s Diner in Brighton for old school Boston diner breakfast.
Post feeding time we’d recommend poking through the used wares of the city. If you’re looking for music Cheap-O Records in Cambridge is a great place to scour through bins. They have a 3 for $5 deal on records and you always find something that, if not good per se, you can at the very least eek some kind of amusement out of. A refreshing way to discover musical oddities and anomalies.
For clothes we would mosey over to Garment District in Cambridge which has a vast array of used and vintage clothing that is sorted by era while maintaining a reasonable price tag. You could also hit Boomerangs in Central Square which though slightly less curated has the jackpot or Vivant Vintage in Lower Allston for a highly curated vintage collection. If you still find yourself foaming at the mouth for used clothing you could head to Rasberry Beret, which features multiple booths of independent clothing resellers and offers a curated yet varied by taste experience. If all this shopping has found you disgusted with your own existence might we suggest heading to Blackbird Books, Cambridge’s premier used books store, and picking up some writing by Sartre.
And if all of that reading of existentialism has made you question it all, might we recommend you head to the pub. Our choices would be The Druid, easily the best irish pub in the city, offering the best guinness and fish and chips in town, and a true Irish staff who split the year between Boston and Ireland. However if you crave tequila, might we suggest Lonestar, which has a comprehensive selection of Anejo, Reposado and Mezcal. Not only this but their chips and small plates are also very good.
But if you find that liquor cannot quell the existential nausea might we suggest dinner. Habaneros offers authentic salvadorian cuisine that is kind to the wallet, Punjabi Dhaba has the best masala chai and Muqueca is a fantastic Brazilian restaurant. If you were looking for something to bring home for later we’d recommend Central Bakery in East Cambridge which has incredible portugese muffins.
Now. If food has not quite fed you and you come to realise you were experiencing a hunger of the soul perhaps what you need is culture, or if not that, then more alcohol. Luckily all of these nighttime destinations offer both. For cinema you could head to The Brattle, Somerville Theater or Coolidge Corner. All three of these theaters offer affordable tickets and feature everything from cult classics, indies, internationals, blockbusters and 35MM showings. Easily one of our favourite aspects of the city and between the three of them you will never be bored.
For music we’d suggest the Lily Pad for local acts and folks touring on the DIY level – it is a charming 120 cap room and is coincidentally right next to the Druid, the aforementioned Irish bar. If you’d like to hit the classic Boston punk bar we’d suggest O’Briens – an essential staple of Boston and frankly the national touring circuit. It is a small block box room soaked three times over in PBR and it is great.
Lastly if you’d like a midsize room to see a national or international touring act we’d suggest The Sinclair. It looks great, it sounds great and it’s many a bands favorite venue to play. If we could never tour again and play 100 nights a row at the Sinclair we might. Or we would go to State Park or Irish Village for a night cap.
And there it is. Vundabar’s perfect day in Boston, MA – enjoy and hallelujah!
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‘Surgery and Pleasure’ is out now.
Catch Vundabar live in the UK:
May
4 Leeds Gold Sounds
5 Manchester The Deaf Institute
6 Birmingham Hare and Hounds
8 London Scala
9 Bristol Strange Brew
10 Brighton DUST
Photo Credit: Shervin Lainez
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