Vundabar might be the most accomplished New England band you’ve never heard of. The Boston-based sludge-pop trio sold out its latest album online, has toured internationally, and has several videos on YouTube, and yet it’s hard to dig up details about the group.
That could be because they’re in heavy DIY mode. Guitarist and singer Brandon Hagen takes care of the band’s PR, and also writes the music and lyrics. The band members still have their obligatory day jobs, too. Hagen and drummer Drew McDonald are couriers in Boston, while bassist Grayson Kirtland works at the Brighton Music Hall.
But the band is picking up steam. They recently played a handful of shows in Canada, and now they’re headed to 3S Artspace in Portsmouth, where they’ll open for fellow Mass.-based indie rockers And the Kids on Friday, July 1.
After Vundabar self-released its debut EP, “Antics,” in 2013, an agent convinced them to hit the road — in Europe. They crisscrossed the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, and Switzerland, ironing out any wrinkles along the way.
The band started taking things to the next level soon after, touring the United States and putting in long hours in nameless clubs and bars.
Their latest album, 2015’s “Gawk,” marks a turn toward a more cohesive yet still eclectic and sludgy sound. Hagen’s softly spoken vocals can glide over an emo/indie melody, then match racing drumbeats and hyper guitar notes. Vundabar’s likeable, often jangly guitar-rock sound makes it near impossible for listeners to keep still.
Hagen recently talked to The Sound about how far the band has come, from playing their first gig in a nearly empty bar, to venturing out on an overseas tour.
What are the band’s influences?
Polar Seltzer. Pictures of men holding fish. “Kiid” by Mal Devisa is incredible. “Pornography” by the Cure and Leonard Cohen have been my fixation for the last couple months.
Where was the first gig the band played and what was it like?
The All Asia (in Cambridge). We played to an empty room in the middle of the day. Memories. It was just this terrible little bar. It was a place when you were like a fledgling little kid band that you could actually play, even if it was a matinee show and you played to no one. It shut down. MIT bought the area, the block, so they closed it down. They got pushed out. But it was awful and it was great, and we were just happy to play somewhere.
How do you write the lyrics and music for Vundabar’s songs?
I kind of just sit down and whatever’s going on, whatever’s on my mind, and try to create a semi-vague narrative, I guess.
Why do you want to keep the lyrics vague?
Just so you’re not putting yourself out there in an overly exposing way, I guess. I think that’s more interesting, personally.
When do you think the band finally gelled?
After our first European tour. We got to try things out on a bigger stage, and our booking agent over there would push and encourage us to practice whenever we had a free day. It was our first extended tour. We were doing shows over there for about two months.
After experiencing the audiences in Europe, how does Canada stack up?
Very nice, very chatty, very down to have a conversation. A number of people that I don’t know just gave us free things, started talking to us on the street, did nice things for us. It was kind of shocking. Every country has its cultural subtleties and I just like picking up on them and getting to spend some time there and to get a feel for people.
How did you end up doing a European tour? It seems like you were still a really young band at the time.
An agent found us on the Internet after we self-released “Antic.” I did all the PR for it, which didn’t go great; we didn’t get much coverage. But one of the people that did cover us was a French blog. And through that, our agent was able to find us and was like, ‘Let’s do a European tour.’ We did our first tour two years ago and I think it was pretty wild. Because at that point we had only done like two or three U.S. tours, like a couple months of touring in the U.S.
What’s been your favorite country to play in?
We spent the most time in France. The best was the UK, just because the language barrier was sometimes tough (in France). You’d get just crickets sometimes, because they don’t know what you are saying. UK people have that dry humor, so we were able to make them laugh and be grotesque. But I enjoyed all the places we went. Luxembourg is an odd place, just a tiny, tiny little country. It was a strategic focal point during battles back in the day, so it was never a claimed territory, and it just became its own country. It was nice to spend time with the people and gain a non-American perspective on things.
Overall, does Europe have a better music scene than the U.S.?
The music industry (in Europe) is really great. The government subsidizes the music industry. The support system’s better. There are government programs, cultural enrichment programs, so they’ll give you grants if you’re a musician or an artist. There’s just more programs set up, making working in the music industry and being an artist feasible.
Has Vundabar played in New Hampshire before?
We played a bunch of places in New Hampshire. We played the Modern Gypsy in Manchester. We played UNH a couple times, a couple DIY shows in Newmarket. We were supposed to play a show with And the Kids in New Hampshire last year, but the venue canceled at the last minute.
What do you think about the music scene right now in New Hampshire?
I think it’s cool. I’ve been friends with Ezra (Cohen of Seacoast bands Notches and Charles) for a long time. All of his projects have been really cool. I think there’s always been a very good punk scene in New Hampshire, for sure.
Vundabar opens for And the Kids on Friday, July 1, at 9 p.m. at 3S Artspace, 319 Vaughan St., Portsmouth. Tickets are $15, available here. You can find Vundabar’s music on Bandcamp. To read an archived interview with headliners And the Kids, click here.