New Artist Spotlight: Blunda’s Sepia-Tinted Electro-Rock World Looking for ‘Brighter Days’

Blunda is just one of those people artists for whom the “New Artist Spotlight” tag is a misnomer, as he’s been making tunes lengthier than most of YEDM’s punters have been alive. Setting up youthful as a classical pianist, Andy Blunda played guitar and keyboard in the significant profile indie bands Fastball and Paloalto in the 90s and early 00s. Following that, Blunda stayed energetic in Hollywood, composing soundscapes for videos and tv until he obtained the inspiration to go solo in 2014. With a exclusive type equally in his guitar get the job done and terms of generation, many listeners might really feel like they’ve listened to him before his most current album Brighter Times, even if they know nothing of his solo function with his intensive rap sheet, they most likely have.

Messages was Blunda’s first solo EP and it declared this distinct audio with classic synths influenced by late 80s new wave and compositions which hearken indie vibes from the exact era. The guitar work is all Blunda, nonetheless, and in tracks like the title monitor and “If You Want Me,” that amazing guitar get the job done elevates the audio from kind of throwback indie to seriously his personal extremely-interesting ambient indie rock.

On the shoegazey borders of aspiration pop, both equally this exceptional guitar seem and ambient audio layout continued to develop for Blunda in his following EP, 2020’s Pulling For You, which experienced a good deal extra synth and piano function up entrance. Blunda also experimented more with vox manipulation here in tracks like “Low.” There’s a solid jazzy ingredient on this EP as nicely, and Blunda normally skirts the edge of grownup contempo but lands firmly in the Tom Waits stop of article punk thanks to his tonal buildings and compositions being so simply awesome.

Brighter Times, which introduced in late June, looks to be where by Blunda has found a harmony for all the different aspects in his earlier releases. Blunda claims he went into this project with the intention of capturing the power of lockdown, equally the depth and the malaise the sort of muted vibes as properly as the hope for, perfectly, “brighter days.”

This album arrived out of wanting to developing a space and sensation that would transport the listener. I discovered myself likely on tons of hikes this past 12 months with my son and checking out all these incredible locations just outdoors of the town. I seriously required to produce one thing that gave the emotion of currently being in all these large open up areas. Especially soon after all the lockdowns of the previous few of several years.

The importance outside house plays in therapeutic is also pretty considerably mirrored in the way every specific track moves in Brighter Times, as properly as how the entire album flows. In the opening tracks “Beginning” and “Lost Without the need of You,” that sort of muted, golden hour perception of peace in mother nature arrives through by using the sound layout, composition and vocals. These two are carried out so well in terms of vibe that they could be put together and only known as “Elysium” (not the movie) as they match the tones and emotion of the album deal with: peaceful, a bit fuzzy and at the very same time therapeutic and heart-rending.

From those to start with two far more shoegazey tracks, Brighter Days moves into the far more aspiration pop side of matters via  with “Belong to Me,” which is a transition keep track of or sorts, “Tape Pad,” “Ever Since” and “Open,” which are a little bit extra peak desire pop blended with post punk, a’la Washed Out. The all-instrumental penultimate tune “Bm” is a nod to Blunder’s distinct-by-now enjoy of submit punk when “Light On” closes the album as it commenced: peak shoegaze.

The purpose all these kinds are significant is the afore-pointed out journey the album intends to get. It’s also exceptionally technically tricky to just take explained journey with so several styles. Blunda accomplishes this with audio style, delicate, grunge-and-shoegaze-tinted vocals and comparable, Moogy synths during, while the vapor wave at the conclude in “Light On” is a enjoyable shock. His complex mastery is on entire display screen with Brighter Times as is his musical EQ, making solid psychological reactions with every monitor, no matter if it has vocals or not. It may possibly be unusual to say, right after practically 30 yrs in the business enterprise, that Brighter Days is Blunda’s seminal get the job done, but supplied how sturdy a work it is, that might actually be accurate. Here’s hoping he retains creating even more vivid soundscapes from in this article.

Brighter Days is out now and can be streamed on Spotify or bought on Bandcamp.