Earlier this week, Boston trio Vundabar announced the release of their upcoming album Devil For The Fire, follow up to 2020’s Either Light. Along with the news came the release of the title track, also their official third single after the release of “Aphasia” and “Ringing Bell” as a pair earlier this May. Frontman Brandon Hagen explained the inspiration behind the track on Instagram, which has its roots in film noir and psychology:

“The subconscious and subconscious fear is a big theme in a lot of film noir so I had that on the mind – sequences of abstract and surreal images to convey an innerworld and whatnot…I was also burning through books on neuroplasticity… a science that attests to the human capacity for change and the mind’s elasticity. Everything we do can rewire our brain, the possibility for something new is always there: things shift continually. This was a solace in the midst of early covid when it was easy to lose that perspective and our worlds became small.”

After the discovery of neuroplasticity, Hagen’s father suffered a stroke that resulted in global aphasia, a disorder caused by damage to the parts of the brain that control language. Running back and forth between the studio and the hospital, Hagen watched over the past year as his father learned how to walk, eat, and speak all over again, and noted how this experience only emphasized, in his words, the “human potential for growth and change” despite both emotional and physical worlds dissolving: 

“The entire thing was surreal; the hospitals in the age of covid, the looming spectre of death hanging over us, the bizarre timing of his accident with what I’d been reading and writing, and going to work while it felt like something was shattering. This song feels very much charged with these events and when I listen to it I feel far away from it – which is good – happily things are going much better, my dad continues to inspire me to change and grow and still things shift continually.”

The song and accompanying music video are stunning; the inspiration from film noir comes through in the instrumentals, embedded in the sharp guitar melody that feel like small, calculated needle pricks. With the command “Begone!” to one’s demons, the chorus erupts, Hagen’s vocals changing from a coarse, jagged croon to a breathless falsetto; bassist Zack Abramo and drummer Drew McDonald act as the makeshift Greek chorus, chanting “the horror! The horror!” in between. The second verse marks a change to something more existential, desperate, even; “I wanna be reborn, but how many times do I gotta die?,” Hagen asks the void before the track becomes an organized cacophony (and the horse that’s been chasing him finally catches up). In other words, it’s catharsis in every sense of the word.

Devil For The Fire is out February 11.

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photo by CJ Harvey