March 4th, 2014 
Brian Leak 
Artist: Blunda
Album: Messages
Genre: Indie Pop, Alt Rock
Andrew Blunda has accrued an impressive inventory of merits for his résumé as a musician throughout his career — maybe most notably as guitarist and keyboardist of Los Angeles-based outfit Paloalto, or his contributions as composer for a handful of shows on Discovery Channel, A&E, and History Channel. He was also a guitarist for Fastball in the late ’90s right about the time they delivered All The Pain Money Can Buy which featured what is likely their two most popular singles, “Out Of My Head” and the never forgotten “The Way.”
Years later, Blunda has released his second solo EP and unlike his work in the aforementioned bands, Messages is chock full of ’80s influences, smooth, almost brooding vocals, and big synthy moments that beg you to dance along. If you were to judge Blunda’s solo project based solely on this 5-track release, it’d be easy to consider it as good, if not better, than most of what his other bands have ever released. It’s structurally cohesive and offers a lot of textures, moods, and accessibility. It’s not necessarily breaking any new ground in the realms of indie-pop, new wave, or alternative rock, but it’s completely solid in nearly every way and never overstays its welcome.
It isn’t until over two minutes into the opening track, “A Broken Case,” that we’re met with vocals of any kind as up until that point, we groove along to a slowly building cut that would easily fit in the soundtrack for Beverly Hills Cop or something equally as awesome from the ’80s. When Andrew Blunda finally graces “A Broken Case” with his voice, it all falls into place. His vocal delivery accentuates the composition perfectly, with a deep, earnest approach reminiscent of Morrissey and veterans of his ilk.
There are moments in the EP, like in “If You Want Me” for example, where you may think, “If this song continues on this path for too long, I’m going to be very bored,” but it’s at that very moment that the song makes the necessary changes to keep you interested and keep the track alive. These instances can seem tedious at first and Blunda plays it safe, sure, but he also knows exactly what he’s doing. Just because it’s safe doesn’t mean it isn’t steady and entertaining. Blunda knows his limits and creates what he knows very well.
The EP’s title track is far more upbeat, the most ’80s of them all, and probably the most fun offering of the five. The synth throughout is undeniably catchy. The song has a slight funk vibe and is nearly impossible to refrain from dancing to. I took a few breaks to do so while writing this as I had “Messages” on repeat. The guitar is far more prominent here, too, and displays more of Blunda’s talents outside of the more synth-heavy tracks preceding it. This song deserves radio play and in an ideal world would likely serve as the single-song impetus for Blunda’s deserved growth in notoriety.
Messages ends on a gorgeous note with “The Money Side,” the most elegant and instrumental of the lot in terms of the amount of instruments being prominently displayed. I wouldn’t have cared if “The Money Side” was 10 minutes long. The closing track is the most impressive in all regards and truly shows what Blunda is capable of as a musician. It’s still safe in a sense, as again, we’re not really charting new territory here and the structure is mostly familiar, but it’s such a fully realized effort with a lot of heart and not a second of its 4-minute run-time feels wasted or heavy-handed.
Some may listen through Messages and feel that it’s too derivative or pedestrian, but as I listen through this EP, I hear songs that are crafted from the heart — songs that are made to the best of someone’s (current) ability from what they know, love, and enjoy creating. Sure, there are many times when I hear something far too familiar and think, “I’ve heard this all before,” and in most cases that can certainly take you out of the experience, but with Blunda’s Messages, it’s not so much familiar as it is comfortable. He doesn’t make you want to go listen to what his music made you think of, he makes you enjoy his take on what influenced this EP and his songwriting over the years. You want to sit back and relax with it, then change gears as you feel its overwhelming influence in your feet that force you to dance with it.
Messages is an indie-pop release that stacks up well with the best of ’em, even if at times you feel a bit of déjà entendu while experiencing it.
SCORE: 8.5/10
Review written by: Brian Lion — (Follow him on Twitter)
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