Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0a/Modern_Vampires_Of_The_City.jpg

Modern Vampires of the City is the upcoming third album American band Vampire Weekend, slated to be released May 6, 2013 on XL Recordings.

Tracklisting

1. "Obvious Bicycle"
2. "Unbelievers"
3. "Step"
4. "Diane Young"
5. "Don't Lie"
6. "Hannah Hunt"
7. "Everlasting Arms"
8. "Finger Back"
9. "Worship You"
10. "Ya Hey"
11. "Hudson"
12. "Young Lion"

Yeah!

10. "Ya Hey"

dealbreaker.

Lol

"Ya Hey" vs. "Hey Ya" vs. "Ho Hey"

That cover is like a puree of the last three years of indie album cover aesthetics.

"Obvious Bicycle"!!

Love the cover but wish it didn't have the title written like that

"Modern Wankers of the City"

it begins

hah sorry, nothing against these guys, that's just what I saw when I first saw the picture of the cover!

It would make a better title.

hey fuckers, ever heard of leading?

good god i hope that doesn't turn out to be some horrible new design trend

I have come to think of the sans-serif Vampire Weekend cover font as their version of Boston's guitar-spaceship.

Then felt I like some Whiney of the skies
When a foul planet swims into his ken;
Or like young Markers when with eagle eyes
He star'd at Tom DeLonge — and all his men
Look'd at each other with a wild embed —
Silent, upon a peak in Williamsburg.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1t%41%59mMjLdY

hi

Grayscale!

modern vampires of the city sounds like a sfar comic

http://www.fanboy.com/archive-images/vampire-loves-06.jpg

are the arctic monkeys still popular?

This is such a great album. My favourite of the year so far.

I wanna hear :'(

Co sign DL

this is the first of their albums I've dug the whole way through

ugh jealous of you guys who've heard it already ugggggggggghhhhhhh

Really wanna hear this new album

Give it!

I can wait.

vampire weaksauce

Try harder

more like, modern vampires of the shitty!!!

but seriously, i'm looking forward to this

yawn

i can't find this, going to have to wait.

Ilx pre-covers?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mX46e4GtlXM

also

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mDxcDjg9P4

I'm somewhat obsessed with Step, and with the old Souls of Mischief song it's based on.

"Step" has ambitious lyrics!

"Step" always makes me so fucking giddy for some reason

If not a hardcore stanner, I've at least always been sympathetic towards VW. But listening to these two tracks above, I think we might have parted ways at this point. They aren't bad songs. I just find my interest in hearing them has entirely evaporated.

I freely admit I lasted thirty seconds into "Step," thought "Fuck this" and moved on.

I was thinking that this fool is the only singer who can sing against this arrangement without collapsing into preciousness.

Ha, I just felt it fully careening into said preciousness and had too many flashbacks of run of the mill indie rock albums I've heard in recent years. Ah well.

Step is fantastic, love the effect on Koenig's voice during the chorus.

Step is great.

I am quite surprised by Ned's reaction. I think Step is the best thing they've done. I don't really 'get' Diane Young though....maybe it will take a few more listens. My sister would be upset by the video as a Saab owner.

yeah what a waste of a beautiful 900 cabrio

both these new songs are pretty good imo

I think "Step" sounds like an outtake from Fold Your Hands Child You Walk Like a Peasant, which I'm kind of fine with, actually.

I kind of love it despite myself! It sounds like Beachwood Sparks

new song remind me of Hurdy Gurdy Man

sounds like Ween covering Vampire Weekend

wtf at these lyrics

sounds like John Hodgman writing a chapter about William Burroughs

irl lol at the sampled vocal in Diane Young, that is like some Casio SK1 shit there

I think "Step" sounds like an outtake from Fold Your Hands Child You Walk Like a Peasant, which I'm kind of fine with, actually.

My disdain for it suddenly clarified!

I freely admit I lasted thirty seconds into "Step," thought "Fuck this" and moved on.

― Ned Raggett, Monday, March 18, 2013 6:04 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this

really do not like either of these songs. way worse than the singles from the previous records, which I still didn't like all that much but at least were a bit endearing.

I also don't get this seeming move to a facebook macro-ish visual aesthetic

that cursive font on a black and white photo makes me feel like I am being cordially invited to the 3rd annual playa's ball

this thread makes me think i'm at the 3rd annual playa haters ball!

I like both songs on first listen. They seem like logical progressions from styles they played around with on Contra. Count me as psyched for the album.

Everybody talking about "Step" but I'm way more into "Diane Young". The Souls sample in the former is cute but it doesn't do a lot for me beyond that. I fux with digital rockabilly tho.

boys coming back in fine form. the production gives the songs a somberish quality that's new for them. it's a good look.

ezra sounds fantastic, also.

ezra's vocals are fantastic across the entire album

From Diane Young: "You've got the luck of a Kennedy"

Good to see Ezra refusing to take his own advice and leave Hyannis Port, the ghetto.

"Stet"'s vocal melody is kinda formulaic Ezra imho

very harsh on stet

Ezra's hair is fantastic.

ok "step" is quite good

diane young has been stuck in my head for a day

not feeling his vocal on "Diane Young" yet but the band is terrific. As for "Step," the "I feel it in my b-o-o-nes" hook is stuck in my head.

the little vocal turn at the end of "boooones" is what makes the chorus for me

also this song is another one for the pachelbel's canon list

I am not feeling "Step" ;_;

"Diane Young" is great tho ^_^

I feel like most rock bands should take every mid-tempo song from their catalog and burn them on a bonfire tho

do not want

If you follow the melody of Step back through Souls of Mischief and its Grover Washington sample you end up at Bread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqXek853SDE

I would not have caught the Souls of Mischief "allusion" if you guys hadn't mentioned and, now that I'm listening for it, it's still barely catching my ear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvBmr_b-Rpg

the melody + "back back way back when" + "every time I see you in the world, you always step to my girl"

I am quite surprised by Ned's reaction. I think Step is the best thing they've done. I don't really 'get' Diane Young though....maybe it will take a few more listens. My sister would be upset by the video as a Saab owner.

― Grandpont Genie, dinsdag 19 maart 2013 13:23 (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah what a waste of a beautiful 900 cabrio

― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), dinsdag 19 maart 2013 14:01 (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

GG's sis and baaderonixx teamed up: http://pitchfork.com/news/50128-vampire-weekend-caught-in-controversy-over-burning-of-saab-cars-in-diane-young-video/

Ha ha yeah saw the initial outrage on the Saab blogs I follow. Funny to see that world collide with the Pk4 one

Is it true that the bassist of Aerosmith is a "Saab enthusiast"?

Ownership and brand loyalty

As the brand has an unusual image in most markets, Saab owners tend to be correspondingly offbeat: intellectuals and enthusiasts.[109][110] In his studies of brand communities, Albert Muniz, professor of marketing at DePaul University in Chicago, found significant characteristics of Saab owners which he called Snaabery.[111][112] These included ownership of an original, pre-GM Saab; camaraderie with other Saab drivers and contempt for other brands such as BMW. Writer John Crace characterised the typical "Snaab" as a creative advertising executive with large spectacles and an asymmetric hairstyle.[113] Rüdiger Hossiep, a psychologist at Ruhr University Bochum, found that Saab drivers have the highest level of psychological involvement with their cars, being over 10 times more passionate than the average Volkswagen driver.[111] Saab's main three markets are Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.[113]

what a lol controversy

Next time they'll up the ante and burn a Saab owner.

why do bands even bother "apologizing" for shit like this

i'm seeing them tomorrow, apparently

do they know?

this thread is my warning

have fun!

great staging/stage setup. they played a lot of the first album, maybe 3 cuts from Contra, plus a smattering of new songs (I only recognized that "you always step to my girl" one)

was disappointed that the merch table didn't have legwarmers

give us a Koenig Hair Update

it has entered a luxurious mop phase

they were really good in general, a lot of fun. the bass player kept doing this knock-kneed dance step that I associate with the Knack or the Cars. They had a giant, ornately framed mirror mounted behind the drummer and giant strobe lights stuck in hanging Roman columns that lined the stage. the slow-down/breakdown in Diplomat's Son was probably the musical highlight of the evening for me.

first album is so fucking classic

On first listens, not sure if I enjoy Ya Hey as much as the 3 other new songs.

good version of that out?

concert streaming now

I thought "Unbelievers" was pretty good.

yep

Ya Hey a little better than the title suggests but I can imagine the "Ya Hey" bits might get a bit annoying after a few listens.

Youtube American Express ads featuring them constantly coming up

The deadpan bits grate (except for Chris Tomson, who's a natural).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5SIKnwMZqI

Listened to Diane Young properly for the first time yesterday and while the song is fun the production is fucking awful. They've gone for that frontloaded drums approach that's been done by hundreds of inept post-Flaming Lips bands, whereas previously a big part of the appeal was the tidiness of their sound.

Hmm, it's the point of the song, which is uncharacteristically goofy and noisy, and nothing else on the album sounds like that. The overdriven production is of a piece with the "baby baby baby" vocal.

the blown-out sound makes the song

Ah okay, I might find myself more forgiving of it now I know the entire album isn't like that.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/2013/04/29/179854416/vampire-weekend-on-new-york-souls-of-mischief-and-the-secrets-of-its-new-album?sc=nl&cc=mn-20130502

Once you get past the discussion of the album cover there are some interesting bits here on their songwriting process

Excellent!

I like "Diane Young" because I like pretty much any song with pitch-shifted vocals.

Even fake digital pitch-shifting. I don't think I've heard it used in this way before.

I'm with Buscemi on this one. Why are they even promoting via youtube a sold-out show? What's the point? Are they gonna do a live feed or something?

Are you talking about the show on Sunday night that was streamed live?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-BznQE6B8U

I'm with Buscemi on this one. Why are they even promoting via youtube a sold-out show? What's the point? Are they gonna do a live feed or something?

― Moka, Thursday, May 2, 2013 4:47 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

to advertise the live stream for the internets?

well that song is awesome

xpost

Ok a live stream does make sense thats hy i asked.

Ya hey spunds good. I'm really liking the sound they're going for in these three songs. Might become their first record where I get the hype.

It sounds so much better than the live version.

i thought the down-tempo single was kinda lame

I think it's an interesting idea to release 3 promo tracks prior to an album release for an established rock band, instead of spreading them out over a promotion cycle lasting several months.

Was this intentional or were they just random leaks?

Intentional, they come with videos.

Yeah def interesting... They're shooting for a strong 1st week.

vampire leakened

Halfway through, I'm really liking this so far.

lol when Koenig says "You've got the luck of a Kennedy" you gotta wonder if it's praise

Damn me if Hannah Hunt isn't used in Girls.

cause this orthodox girl fell in love with the guy at the falafel shop / and why not? / should she have averted her eyes and stared at the laminated poster of the dome of the rock?

Early favorite is Hudson.

arrrgh idk if they will ever top the s/t

Contra did.

It is a bit premature, but to me MVOTC tops Contra, which I preferred to the s/t.

i can't rate this album yet but it's great and honestly since i love their music and don't really give a shit about rating albums from best to worst who cares

you're surrounded on either side by critics

ok fine u got me 8.765942/10 imho but i need to listen a few more times to make sure

On two listens (ONLY ON TWO LISTENS), this isn't as good as either of the first two, but still excellent.

The asides are goofy but I can forgive them

Which songs would you consider asides?

I mean the spoken word bits sprinkled throughout

They work because I can imagine Ezra diffidently brushing an errant lock aside while singing.

gosh, Hannah Hunt

I like to imagine the band listening to the Buckingham songs on Mirage obsessively while recording this album.

man remember when people were saying they'd only have the first album and then vanish

remember mad Clap Your Hands Say Yeah comparisons and such

Listening to Hudson. Maybe I wasn't paying attention to the past albums but this is sounding like an ambitious, mature album. I wasn't expecting something like this because I didn't take them very seriously the first time around.

It is ironically the most fun I ever had listening to an album by them.

yeah, that's pretty much exactly how I feel about it. No clue how much staying power it'll have but who gives a shit, I'm really enjoying it now.

I like to imagine the band listening to the Buckingham songs on Mirage obsessively while recording this album.

"eyes of the world" vs. "step"

Tim knows how to poke at my e-zones.

I haven't heard the rest yet but "ya hey" is amazing.
it's funny cos it kinda makes me think of their joshua tree moment !

Second half of this record in bed at night gave me high school chills

Excited to listen to this - I bought and quickly forgot about Contra on release but then I recently pulled it out during one of those recent freaky snow storms and it sounded fantastic.

Loved the first two but think this is even better. To go from A-Punk to Ya Hey and still sound like themselves is some achievement and the lyrics have a weight that wasn't there before. If you string the three albums together they trace the emotional arc between the ages of 20 and 27 to perfection.

I agree - this album is tremendous and at least as good as (if not better than) the last two.

yeah, I don't know how the rest of the new album is but "ya hey" is very impressive in terms of depth and maturity in songwriting. I enjoy the first album with its cute lightness and silliness but this is something else (I have skipped the second though so they might have evolved a lot in-between). in other words, that's some heavy shit !

the chirping vocal in "Ya Hey" is the worst though

Agree, never need to hear that again

however I love the organ sound on "Everlasting Arms."

I appreciate how QUIET some of this is as opposed to say , Bankrupt.

gorgeous:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ps6TjI7ws0

I don't know how they operate so I might be mistaken here but to me this is first and foremost incredible work by Batmanglij.

Koenig's quiet riff under the organ, the bass = excellent.

the ballads on this aren't totally my jam but yeah this is pretty fucking good

"hudson" kinda dire tho

so is the one that sounds like Animal Collective

"diane young" is fucking dreadful

Annoyed the hell out of me at first.

Me too, and I love it now.

really like the chirping in "ya hey," it's just a neat trebly texture that already yelpy ezra can actually play against

the mirage-era buckingham comparison has caused me to enjoy this album even more, thanks tim

think of the first 15 seconds of "Eyes of the World," then play "Unbelievers," Brad.

"Diane Young" is a dehumanized (a-human?) take on Tusk's "That's Enough For Me" or "The Ledge," except it took the Mac a million bucks to sound that way.

wow otm

only heard "Diane Young" for the first time today & I love it

There's a Diane in Mirage too

Love the way Diane Young turns into Don't Lie.

Finger Back is very Lindsey Buck/Tusk sounding.

What is it about Koenig's vocals that makes it seem like he sees and understands all yr good parts and bad parts and how they fit together

Get ready: the first of the "think pieces" is up.

"when his voice cracks in the final verse, as the wilted relationship he's describing craters, it's a sign that Koenig is finally as invested in the emotional lives of his characters as he is in obsessing over their wardrobes and travel itineraries" -- lol oh rlly

not even gonna click

Haha that reads like a more pompous version of my immediately preceding post

jesus christ he was invested in the emotional lives of his characters, fuck that talk

was always*

Where once Koenig cared about Louis Vuitton now he cares about love and death

yeah i think this is all kinds of off the mark

the usual overestimation of lyrics, among other things

Let's face it, he's just the singer of Sublime reincarnated in the body of an upper class New York aesthete.

it's pretty clearly an album about god

And immigration, history, New York, love and death.

I like the Grantland review a lot actually. Only goes wrong by underrating the emotional investment of the earlier albums that he clearly wasn't that into. I think he gets this one right.

unbelievers, everlasting arms, finger back, worship you, ya hey, young lion - i count like a dozen or so references to god/divinity/faith/religion

"only goes wrong by underrating the emotional investment of the earlier albums that he clearly wasn't that into"

and this is a pretty big wrong to make

especially if your whole thesis is "it was like this before, now it's like this"

I don't mind that he likes this album best -- I question his assumptions.

Which ones?

that albums become deeper when lyrics abandon references to brands and clothes

This grantland think piece is terrible:
"Vampire Weekend's latest, Modern Vampires of the City (out May 14), defuses the conversation around the group's first two albums by walking away from it completely."

I agree that sets up too many false oppositions in order to explain why he suddenly likes VW rather than engaging with the first two albums again and realising that this is an evolution rather than a U-turn.

I just think Hyden's a good critic who makes a lot of smart points a, so I feel compelled to defend him from the "god this is terrible" pile-on.

oh he might be a good critic!

i like Diane Young and Ya Hey better than any of their other songs. I haven't listened to the whole record yet, but these songs are more sonically interesting, I think.

yeah hyden's just fine i just have a problem with a lot of his arguments on this partic. piece

Just heard Diane Young for the first time. My goodness that is a good song.

yeah it rules... i would almost go as far to say that nothing in their previous albums prepared me for it. although, i should disclose that i was always weirdly prejudiced against this band because the drummer went to my high school and this like, caused me to see them as super obnoxious and preppy. with time i learned that i don't really care about that stuff though. my high school experience wasn't that bad.

What is it about Koenig's vocals that makes it seem like he sees and understands all yr good parts and bad parts and how they fit together

ftr this might be the most wrong thing i have EVER seen written about this band. TIM....

Here's another insufferable piece: The New Yorker asks, like, should I even bother?

digital rockabilly is always dope. I kind of wanna sing "Jack U Off" over "Diane Young" tho.

man i feel 4 that critic. like who has 70 minutes to listen to those first two albums and correct the blind spot when you have to write a piece about how you haven't heard 70 minutes worth of music.

Here's another insufferable piece: The New Yorker asks, like, should I even bother?

― @GracieLoPan #fyi (Display Name (this cannot be changed):),

I'm so sorry I read this.

i can't wait for sfj tell-all piece about how he's never actually listened to an album all the way through. and then david denby will write one about how he always falls asleep during movies with subtitles... it would be a cool new direction for the New Yorker.

Couldn't resist commenting on the NYer piece...

On first listen it sounded subdued, but I was at work and not properly focusing on it. Liking it ten times better on headphones right now.

I might be completely off the mark (not as much as moodles who compared them to Sublime) but the sound of this album reminds me of Spoon, albeit less antiseptic. Which has always been my beef with Spoon, I want to like them but they always sound too controlled.... too tight. VW dont seem to have this problem.

What is it about Koenig's vocals that makes it seem like he sees and understands all yr good parts and bad parts and how they fit together

ftr this might be the most wrong thing i have EVER seen written about this band. TIM....

― flamenco drop (lex pretend), Wednesday, 8 May 2013 00:06 (6 hours ago) Permalink

I'm not claiming that he does this on "Diane Young", it's more an album track kinda thing, but I wouldn't expect you to agree with me in any event obv.

He's good at writing evenhanded studies of flawed characters.

Finally listening and this album is kind of tremendous btw.

Fastnbulbous
5 hours ago
If the New Yorker stopped paying you to write about music you can't be bothered to listen to, that would not be a tremendous loss either.

Ha ha

Lex, have you listened to Vampire Weekend long enough to know whether Tim's observation is right or not? I doubt it. I think he's otm about Ezra's emotional intelligence, which has always been underrated.

i've listened to enough VW to know that he has a fucking horrible voice

i also discovered last week he does fake patois on the major lazer album ;_;

Thank you for your insights.

Good Ezra line in the Pitchfork interview: "The perfect tone is halfway between deeply serious and totally fucking around. If you don’t give Vampire Weekend credit for any type of self-awareness or humor, you’re always going to have this crazy impression of us.”

http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/9125-vampire-weekend/

lex get ouuuuut we're not trolling dawn richard threads

xpost I don't mind that New Yorker piece. Tons of music I feel I should have listened to that I just haven't. Nice to see someone admitting it for a change. If you work in an office where playing music isn't possible, and have a family rather than living in a garret, then keeping up with things is all but fucking impossible simply because the opportunities to listen to music properly are so rare. Now I do much more writing than editing, I listen to less and less, because I'm generally having to listen fairly closely to what I'm actually writing about, rather than casting around to see what's good and what's not.

You're right about how hard it is to keep up, but the manner in which Greenman penned that kinda bugs me.

But it only takes 70 minutes to catch up on their catalogue

Why would he lie about how much time he had? Why would he lie about something dumb like that?

Lol

lol

Greenman piece is reasonable to me, and I can totally relate to it.

Ditto. Some things I decide not to hear / investigate. Always been the case.

What is it about Koenig's vocals that makes it seem like he sees and understands all yr good parts and bad parts and how they fit together

ftr this might be the most wrong thing i have EVER seen written about this band. TIM....

― flamenco drop (lex pretend), Tuesday, May 7, 2013 5:06 PM Bookmark

I kind of want Ezra Koenig to write a song about lex now.

"I Think Ur A Contra" IIRC

Ha ha. Lex is such a contra.

i think he's more of a samantha

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22443178

9.3 on Pitchfork. Blimey.

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17963-vampire-weekend-modern-vampires-of-the-city/

One thing I miss is the sharpness of Contra, the way each song was its own soundworld with each and every detail etched perfectly. In some ways that album felt observationally more acute because it was more acute sonically.

Modern Vampires is messier, more diffuse, that overexposed (in the photograph sense, not the popular culture sense) drum sound creating a constancy in vibe and feel that perhaps is laudable in its own right but also makes the songs less singular - like, I love both "Don't Lie" and "Everlasting Arms", but it's not like you need both of them. It feels by comparison like a self-indulgent sprawl even though most of the songs are shorter and less expansive (though not less surprising or idiosyncratic).

And then on the other hand I do think the band is getting better (or more focused on?) liberating those emotional cut-throughs, the kind of capture-yr-life-in-a-snowglobe effect of "Giving Up The Gun" seems to crop up a lot here, though obv most intensely on "Ya Hey" (which I adore its irritations notwithstanding).

It would be very hard for me at this point to say where/how I rate the album vis a vis their prior work.

I daresay the third XX album will be similar in that regard.

Why do you say that? It doesn't feel like the band's trajectories based on their respective first two albums are even remotely similar.

Now I.gotta read Koenig's blog.

You only read it for the articles, right?

Interested by that comment re: the lack of singularity in the songs. Maybe there's a more pervasive sense of darkness and melancholy but stylistically, this album's got pitch-shifting 50s rock'n'roll and Walkmen-style emotional ballads and then weird, creepy curveballs like "Hudson" - it's certainly not void of variation

Yeah I didn't mean it's not varied, more that the songs don't feel so self-contained. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Often it's only when a new album comes out that it allows me to understand more specifically what it is that made the previous album special to me.

I feel all three albums complete each other very well, DL is otm with how it 'traces the emotional arc between the ages of 20 and 27 to perfection.'

generally idgaf about p4k scores but i'm really happy this album is getting the notice it deserves

xp so what's that? 1: carefree fun on campus, 2: searching your path in the city, 3:?

Realising that some plants move.

The rendition of "Diane Young" on Saturday Night Live did not win me over-- the vocals felt too gimmicky. The 2nd song they did was more interesting to me.

lol why is the entirety of the first paragraph of the Pitchfork review about Ezra Koenig's defunct blog

(and the Billy Joel post is not particularly good)

also what the hell does "lived-in sonics" mean

But "Step" avoids back-patting nostalgia and debunks bogus generational hierarchies while using the past to inspire the present.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2011/11/08/nyregion/08-TonySchwarts-Cityroom/08-TonySchwarts-Cityroom-blog480.jpg

tim otm, when i first heard the record i was sort of like "there's nothing as uniquely pulling as 'taxi cab' or 'run' on this record," by which i mean the pull is stretched across this new record, instead of located specifically in each song. a tightly drawn sprawl

really? "Step," "Unbelievers," and "Finger Back" were instant earworms.

i'd say "step" yes "unbelievers" sorta but i'm not exactly knocking the songs qua songs

I haven't heard the whole album yet and barely remember the songs I listened to upthread but the entire Pitchfork review comes across to me like dude's attitude while writing was "thank god they stopped fucking around with polyrhythms and did some good, comfortable white music" and, when he read back his first draft, he panicked and went "how many adjectives can I throw in here so that people won't notice how fucked up my thesis statement is"

reposting Koenig's blog address worthwhile for unearting goodies like this:

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/856/1336/1600/ez22.jpg

he's playing Zep's "The Ocean."

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/856/1336/1600/ezblog.jpg

also their earworminess is not integral to their environmental qualities; a lot of these songs seem like extremely developed sketches that hint, subtley and successfully i think, at an implied larger drawing

I haven't heard the whole album yet and barely remember the songs I listened to upthread but the entire Pitchfork review comes across to me like dude's attitude while writing was "thank god they stopped fucking around with polyrhythms and did some good, comfortable white music" and, when he read back his first draft, he panicked and went "how many adjectives can I throw in here so that people won't notice how fucked up my thesis statement is"

― far too much asshole flesh (DJP), Monday, May 13, 2013 10:17 AM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark

this is pretty shitty

It largely trades in the Africa-inspired giddiness of their first two records for a sound that's distinctly innate and closer to the ear.

hm

Really wish people would stop setting up false oppositions between this record and the two that preceded it. Contra is pretty much halfway between this one and the first.

well, it's a second record

I haven't heard the whole album yet and barely remember the songs I listened to upthread but the entire Pitchfork review comes across to me like dude's attitude while writing was "thank god they stopped fucking around with polyrhythms and did some good, comfortable white music" and, when he read back his first draft, he panicked and went "how many adjectives can I throw in here so that people won't notice how fucked up my thesis statement is"

― far too much asshole flesh (DJP), Monday, May 13, 2013 10:17 AM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark

They hardly just play 'white' music. They're using reggae samples and screw-vocals and rap-choruses. They're still omnivores, it's just not so focused on rhythms from Africa and the Caribean anymore.

Is any critic capable of praising this album without misreading and underrating the first two?

I think the defunct blog is still relevant though in terms of Ezra's interest in pursuing cultural connections. The writer picks up on one example - the new album was heavily influenced by reggae, in terms of subject matter more than sonics, hence the double meaning of the biblical references. And his observation about the font harking back to the vampire movie years ago is smart.

lol at the idea that vampire weekend have ever been underrated by critics

That's not what I said. I mean the first two have been retrospectively downplayed in order to praise the new one.

I do think DJP's paraphrase of Dombal's point is really unfair though.

the gold fact
http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/1012

Internet Vibes redux

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/mens-fashion/vampire-weekend-ezra-koenig-style-0513

Mike Powell's Spin review:

http://www.spin.com/reviews/vampire-weekend-modern-vampires-of-the-city-xl/

And people will probably continue to hate them with an elemental passion because they are friendly, urbane young men who make great use of harpsichords

yes this is the only possible reason anyone could hate them *slow hand clap*

pity those friendly, urbane young men, so widely hated just for who they happen to be ;_; ;_;

At least it's not ukeleles.

Lex, out of interest, why do you hate them? I've only ever seen you mention Ezra's voice, which is fair enough, but is that it?

lex sometimes forgets whether he's in his twitter echo chamber or the ILM echo chamber

TBH if I didn't like Vampire Weekend's music I would probably get immense enjoyment out of vocally hating them, they've just got one of those aesthetics.

love mike powell but this review is a small eternity with a lot of smh moments

What's hatable about their aesthetics?

the VW songs i've heard (ie selected singles, dunno which ones were from which albums though) have pretty much all been really polite and fussy but also really insipid and dull - like you know how jon brion's productions can be eye-rollingly fastidious but at least he also has a knack for the rococo? VW remind me of that but in, like, beige. it seems boringly nostalgic in a way i can't put my finger on/haven't thought much about, like it should be the soundtrack in some twee artisanal café. oh and their lyrics are just excruciating, non-stop cringe whenever i've paid attention to them

love mike powell but this review is a small eternity with a lot of smh moments

It doesn't hang well together at the end but he does a much better job of describing the shift in musical inspiration than Dombal does.

totally agreed

VW write songs whose characters are how the audience wants to see itself. I guess it's self-loathing.

haven't read anything by dombal in an age but he's responsible for some really fucking dreadful stuff in the past

i feel like everything powell writes should be hashtagged #deep or #life or #wistful or some shit, he has a nice vocabulary but it's so precious. i guess that is apt for this band

Lex, I love you, boo, but please don't use the "x sounds like it should be played in y" line.

The thing that gets me past the politeness barrier of a lot of VW material (specifically Contra since I know that album better) is how intricately arranged it is.

Sometimes it does grate massively, like on "I Think Ur A Contra", but OTOH you get great things like "Run" and "Horchata"

What's hatable about their aesthetics?

That it singularly unappeals?

I don't know, I've been venting on this a bit on Twitter myself. They are clearly an accomplished set of musicians, I have no doubt of their skills, etc. etc per Dan's comment just now. AND YET.

Understanding as I am to Lex's depiction in a narcissism-of-small-differences way (both in terms of his approach and the fact that I eat at plenty of said cafes, so it goes both ways), I think the project as outlined in Mike Powell's review inadvertantly illustrates my general problem in a concise fashion -- their initial approach was at best pleasant to me but not deathless, and after initial spins I shrugged at both earlier albums. Now shifting to a 'back to the American heartland' approach is even LESS designed to interest me, which admittedly shouldn't surprise anyone who knows me, and praising a band for sounding more varied than the National or the Arcade Fucking Fire is real 'in the kingdom of the blind' stuff. Also I was asked if I was paying attention to the lyrics, which is always the last thing on my 'to notice' list. So in the end it's like, "Great, good on you, have fun...over there, away from me, thanks." Glad you're all happy if you are but wow is it not interesting to me, not at all.

They're a bit like the Flaming Lips or Belle and Sebastian or something in that their aesthetic seems fine or actively enjoyable if you're on board with the music and if you aren't it's a real "god help us if there's a war" kind of reaction.

Hahah nicely said, that.

haha OTM

I have no idea why they clicked for me because bands like this usually trigger kneejerk revulsion in me but I just dig these dudes.

idk why people go on about the characters in VW songs as though they're particularly well drawn rather than a bunch of cultural reference points clumsily thrown at the song in the hope a couple will stick

because most ppl are a bunch of cultural reference points clumsily thrown together hoping a couple will stick

not really joking

idk why people go on about the characters in VW songs as though they're particularly well drawn rather than a bunch of cultural reference points clumsily thrown at the song in the hope a couple will stick

Yeah come on you haven't really paid any attention though have you?

I wouldn't say I actually enjoy VW lyrical content or their image or anything but I really enjoy their music and their whole approach to sound so I'm prepared to overlook things than would be insufferable in another band.

idk i find the whole "they've moved away from their idiosyncrasies back to tom petty and the national" idea off the mark

American Heartland is a bold exageration, also.

Yeah come on you haven't really paid any attention though have you?

i remember actually reading ALL the lyrics to one of their past albums because what i heard in the single horrified me so much

I mean it's a bit like how Taylor Swift lyrics basically sound like collections of banalities to me (NB I am 100% pro-banalities in pop songs) and I'm really not interested enough in the music to even bother to look for these alleged insightful character studies or whatever.

idk i find the whole "they've moved away from their idiosyncrasies back to tom petty and the national" idea off the mark

It's not really supported by "Diane Young" but as a thesis statement it's a good bit less offensive than "they've stopped playing African music and started playing things that are more comfortable"; I'm reacting less to whether the statement is true or not and more to how badly I want to slap the author for making it.

(oh btw I finally was tricked into hearing "I Knew You Were Trouble" for the first time this weekend thanks to an unfortunate cab ride and it's pretty clearly the best thing Taylor Swift has ever done, benefiting largely from not really sounding like her in the backing music or vocally)

i wouldn't really say character studies are t-swift's thing so much as situation studies. i guess i'd probably talk about pistol annies (and that entire axis of country) as purveyors of the best character studies in pop right now.

Yeah but the Pistol Annies comparison doesn't actually work because I like them.

xp "nostalgic" is such a weird criticism to make

They're a bit like the Flaming Lips or Belle and Sebastian or something in that their aesthetic seems fine or actively enjoyable if you're on board with the music and if you aren't it's a real "god help us if there's a war" kind of reaction.

OTM. Part of VW's attraction to me is how often I hover between being disgusted. But then their lightness is the other part of their attraction.

That's why I find "beige" another odd choice in Lex's critique. They're unapologetically divisive.

Man, they have hooks and hooks and hooks and they tumble out over each other and it's great. That's why I like them. That and the awesome sound and space.

"Their music is locally sourced!"

"PRETENTIOUS ASSHOLES."

Lather rinse repeat.

nah i mean "beige" musically (although aren't most famous people above a certain level inevitably "divisive") - as fussy and intricate as their music is i can't help thinking it should perhaps be more exciting

define "exciting"

this isn't really a new problem with music discussion but it's pretty annoying to have this type of discussion using a woefully inadequate, wholly subjective vocabulary almost guaranteed to keep people from understanding each other

Agreed. I think they're dead exciting.

'eeww critically acclaimed hipsters'

From the NPR interview re the song "Obvious Bicycle":

Batmanglij: This song is interesting because it evolved. It started with a very hectic drum beat that I made, and that inspired me to play piano, and I just played these simple piano chords that came very quickly. I was listening Plastic Ono Band, the John Lennon album a lot, and that might have had some inspiration on me.

It's all John Lennon's fault

i quite like powell's review, but dombal's is good too

they sound like the sea & cake but boring

http://www.buzzfeed.com/perpetua/vampire-weekend-vs-yolo

no

oh come on, you know you want to

THE DARK SIDE OF YOLO

I can't

wow that URL is a quadrumvirate of DNW

Perpetual YOLO

That he had the willpower to resist the use of the phrase 'YOLO Tengo' is one of those minor miracles for which we should all be thankful.

i like "cousins" "a-punk" and "oxford comma" but honestly i just don't like ezra koenig's "teen sting" voice

the new stuff is too post-foster the people productionwise for my taste

http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/webdr03/2013/5/12/20/anigif_enhanced-buzz-17891-1368405289-0.gif

also their earworminess is not integral to their environmental qualities; a lot of these songs seem like extremely developed sketches that hint, subtley and successfully i think, at an implied larger drawing

― emo canon in twee major (BradNelson), Monday, May 13, 2013 2:19 PM (6 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This very much OTM.

I can't get with the idea that this is "back to the American Heartland" in sound, at least not unless I missed something and organs and harpsichords now signify that.

The precise point of distinction is that whereas Contra (and Vampire Weekend) were clear and brightly etched and propulsive this is fuzzy and staggering and kind of decrepit at times, the opening sprint versus the final push over the finish line. The strict geographical flavour seems like a second order issue in this regard, but if anything it sounds European, like it's soundtracking a Henry James character travelling round the continent.

And yeah "beige" is wrong - "Ya Hey" is probably the song that Lex will hate more than any other song ever written if he actually hears it, but it's not because it's boring or plays it safe.

idk why people go on about the characters in VW songs Girls as though they're particularly well drawn rather than a bunch of cultural reference points clumsily thrown at the song screen in the hope a couple will stick

I don't actually believe the above but it feels like a matching complaint.

well at least vampire weekend guy is not - to my limited knowledge - as racist as lena dunham, eh

"as racist"

I've been listening to this many times since yesterday and I'm not particularly grabbed so far... except by "step" (and "ya hey" which I love).
but it seems like an album that needs time to open up so we'll see...
I kinda miss the african/caribbean vibes.

xp Their expressed aim was to make a record that sounded "American but not Americana", ie reflecting the mix of immigrant identities that you find in New York, which makes sense for a band which includes recent descendants of Iranians, Italians and Eastern European Jews. Knowing that, I can hear it in the record but "heartland" is way off the mark.

Yeah, I don't hear anything pointing toward "heartland".
it's no "rattle & hum" (and thank Yahve for that !).

xp okay that makes sense - and chimes in with the Manhattan-style clip for 'Step'.

I like the utopian vibe of the anecdote in Fingerback - that in NYC an orthodox Jewish girl can fall for the arab guy at the falafel shop. Ezra says it's a true story, as is hearing someone segue between Israelites and 19th Nervous Breakdown.

19th nervous israelite

I have to say I don't get the "Israelites/19th nervous breakdown" line : do you have an explanation ?

It matters less than Koenig's charming accent.

He said he heard it in a cafe or bar and liked the transition because of how it sounded but also because of the resonance of the titles. They sound quite ominous put together like that.

Yeah there are loads of little melodic and harmonic touches in this that you just don't hear in rock music, especially indie, even when it's ostensibly ambitious and wild and out there. The faux-baroque keyboard lines, the harmonies on 'Hudson', etc.

The organ sound and tumbling percussion on "Everlasting Arms" = *swoon*

immediately getting junior reid stuck in in your head is an insurmountable hurdle to listening to this record properly imo

"Ya Hey" is probably the song that Lex will hate more than any other song ever written if he actually hears it

scrambled to make it stop when the mewing noises came in. what the FUCK

That's my boy

He said he heard it in a cafe or bar and liked the transition because of how it sounded but also because of the resonance of the titles. They sound quite ominous put together like that.

oh ok, I see. thanks !

what is the magic formula for getting people who don't you to rationalize and apologize for you? maybe they should do a song about that

they never me.

true

I'm with lex on those cat noises!

"Hannah Hunt" all of a sudden reminds me of hushed YHF era Wilco

i've been thinking that "unbelievers" kind of reminds me of wilco too

xp Their expressed aim was to make a record that sounded "American but not Americana", ie reflecting the mix of immigrant identities that you find in New York, which makes sense for a band which includes recent descendants of Iranians, Italians and Eastern European Jews. Knowing that, I can hear it in the record but "heartland" is way off the mark.

― Deafening silence (DL

Junior Reid is just as reflective of the immigrants in NY as the ones you name, although yes they largely leave Caribbean and south of the equator influences off on this one. Plus, the Iranian descendent who grew up in a rich Virginia suburb of D.C. has noted that he's been listening to John Lennon's Plastic Ono band (which if you want to call American because John Lennon was spending time in NYC at that time I guess you can).

Well I named them because they're the band members and Junior Reid isn't, although the album actually started off with a heavier Jamaican influence which (probably for the best) slid off to the sidelines. I'm not equating the origins of the members with the sounds on the record: it's not Italian-Ukrainian-Iranian-American rock.

Was Lennon spending time in the US during Plastic ono band ? Wasn't he retired in his countryside mansion in Britain ? (not that it changes anything since I don't think Plastic One band sounds american at all !)

It was before he moved to NYC, after he spent time doing primal scream therapy in Los ANgeles and then headed back to the UK (if Wiki is right)

I think the Israelites -> 19th Nervous Breakdown is about how stuff like music can be his religion, now that God has turned out to be a bunch of chipmonks.

I think the project as outlined in Mike Powell's review inadvertantly illustrates my general problem in a concise fashion -- their initial approach was at best pleasant to me but not deathless, and after initial spins I shrugged at both earlier albums. Now shifting to a 'back to the American heartland' approach is even LESS designed to interest me, which admittedly shouldn't surprise anyone who knows me, and praising a band for sounding more varied than the National or the Arcade Fucking Fire is real 'in the kingdom of the blind' stuff. Also I was asked if I was paying attention to the lyrics, which is always the last thing on my 'to notice' list. So in the end it's like, "Great, good on you, have fun...over there, away from me, thanks." Glad you're all happy if you are but wow is it not interesting to me, not at all.

Not that it's interesting per se, but I actually think the album is *about* this trend: resignation, defeat, returning to parochialism/provincialism after attempting to engage with the wider world, feeling trapped in genetics/homeland/history/tradition. Something like "Step" is expressly about getting nostalgic for all these bands that felt sui generis in 1990s adolescence(jandek, modest mouse, heiroglypics), and then observing that - even if these things keep informing your life in some way - your taste becomes more sanitized/comfortable/boring/mainstream as you get older, and that maybe that's not really such a bad thing after all.

That being said, the new album is sonically much more interesting than their first two.

I start to get in the album and like it.
I suspect it will keep growing on me.
As said before, I still miss the african/caribbean sounds and in a way, I think it's very good music but it doesn't really have their distinctive identity due to the change of approach in the arrangements and songwriting, mostly.
If I heard most of these tracks on the radio without knowing it's them, I don't think I would recognize them.
not necessarily a bad thing, though.
There are still two tracks that I don't like much, "finger back" and "worship", and somehow, that's the two tracks that remind me of AnCo...
I've had "step" in mind all the time for a day now !

the chorus of "worship you" is a bit soapy

They had that african/caribbean thing going for what? Two songs?

Somewhat more than that.

yeah, I'd have to check for more details but the african/caribbean thing was present, in various forms, in more than 2 songs !
I start to like "finger back" too.
so that leaves "worship" as the song I like the least for now.
and "hannah hunt" is gorgeous, especially once the full instrumentation kicks in.

I've got to the point where I love even the bits I originally thought were weak links. My favourite album since Let England Shake. There are so many delicious details in the production. Current crush is the middle eastern vocal sample and distant "hey!" at 0:52 in Worship You - reminds me of the Prodigy. And the more I listen the more off-base I find the idea that they've abandoned African music - there are elements of it throughout, especially in the vocals, just none of those high guitar lines.

funny, I was listening to this (again) a few minutes ago and realized that there actually ARE some african elements in the album. just not as obvious indeed.
like "everlasting arms". I can't pin exactly what but there's something in the rhythm/groove that's very "world music".

this band sucks

get it?

VAMPIRES

*slow claps*

**slits wrists, drinks own blood**

you must be feeling weakened

**rises from the dead like a phoenix**

up all night to get bloody

listening to the diane young and step youtubes they sound like they were recorded/made on a laptop. were they? be kinda cool if a popular band made their whole album on a laptop in a day. i'm all for efficiency.

at first I didn't like and see the point, musically, of "diane young" considering the rest of their work.
now I'm ok with it but I still don't see the point of it !

"step" is magnificent and sounds great, not laptopy at all !

there are some sweet laptops out there on the market. sounds very digi.

On a whim I bought this on vinyl (limited edition WHITE vinyl, to be exact) but the sound quality of the LP seems a bit muddy, which is weird because it also sounds pretty spare a lot of the time. The mp3s sound a bit better. Maybe it's a mastering issue or maybe my stereo sucks, actually I know my stereo sucks. Anyway, cool album.

Heard "Step" over the PA an expensive restaurant frequented by the comfortable and it sounded very much at home there (but I guess it sounds at home a lot of places, which is part of its charm)

hey guys there's an obvious Momus circa "Circus Maximus" rip-off in "Ya Hey!" for the spoken word part. Besides the (high-culture! low-culture!) lyrics in "the ancient Israelists, on their way to their 19th Nervous Breakdown" it's spoken precisely like Momus would've done it.

Heard "Step" over the PA an expensive restaurant frequented by the comfortable and it sounded very much at home there (but I guess it sounds at home a lot of places, which is part of its charm)

― Guayaquil (eephus!), Monday, May 20, 2013 9:16 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

use other memes please

The (expensive) restaurant was playing Lemon Sounds.

my lansing-dreiden reissue vinyl sounds soooooooooo good. you guys have to come over and hear those records. omg, I felt like a little kid when I played those. totally swept me away. I mean the CDs sounded fine all these years but it was like hearing the albums for the first time again.

"Unbelievers" reminds me of late 60s Kinks. has the pulse of a song like "Victoria" and lyrically also isn't far from Davies songs like "Big Sky"

ya hey is really good. a vampire weekend song about god could have been a disaster but it is perfect.

They're excellent arrangers of sound, I think. I mean you can imagine Coldplay doing 'Ya Hey', it's got all the requisite components except they would bludgeon the hell out of it in the most obvious way. VW have clearly thought about how every single element should sound, and where it should be in the mix, and in doing so steer it away from being a blunt and clumsy stadium ballad.

Amazing that a song so objectively irritating can be so effective.

But yeah the way the rhythm comes in and out is particularly crucial IMO

Hardly any guitar on this thing.

'ya hey' is p awesome, turns an otherwise forgettable song into something good

"step" is magnificent and sounds great, not laptopy at all !

The first thing I noticed on that song was that the digital harpsichord had shuffle on it, not quite a piss-take but definitely a smile. It's not laptoppy but it... struts its artifice?

"Artifice" is a good word. Apparently, they experimented quite a bit during the recording process to get unusual sounds (see Wikipedia). However they did it, I like the sound. It doesn't sound too belabored or worked over, and the production suits the songs. You don't get the sense that the sonic bells and whistles are intrusive or distracting, like for instance you sometimes feel with Danger Mouse productions. Anyway, I'm really digging this album so far. If the first album had the melodies and the second the sound, I think they hit the trifecta with this one.

i genuinely love how scott pops into every thread and is like "eh, this new thing is OK I guess, here's this old thing that's awesome"

Every time I listen to this, I get the chorus to "Finger Back" stuck in my head.

xp been listening to Lansing-Dreiden for first time last 2 days tbh

So xgau gave this an A+.

i take back anything mean i ever said about him

yeah xgau is right. i think this is going to be considered a "classic" album because it gets better for me with each new listen. it also sounds pretty distinctive... the arrangements are more interesting than their earlier stuff.

This is a very solid album, but really loses steam on those last two tracks. "Hudson" is not listenable.

I quite like Young Lion.

Yeah, I like how it ends. It ends with them dying, right? 'The time has come' and the ticking clock brought back from Don't Lie. And then Young Lion is... What?

It just me or does Rostam sing "Young Lion", not Ezra?

He does.

(Rostam)

These lyrics perfectly tie up this album on a fairly uplifting note. As described in the description, this phrase helps combat many of the fears of 20somethings who are not sure what they want to do before they die.

Where as much of the rest of the album deals with a feeling of helplessness and abandonment, this song, combined with the nostalgic piano riff and the Panda Bear-like vocals, dispels these emotions with a blast of hope.

http://rapgenius.com/Vampire-weekend-young-lion-lyrics

Truth.

Pretty sure Lex wrote that.

i'm a bit late to the party here but 'ya hey' is such an immense song

I've got so many spotify plays to give. ezra doesn't want them I guess. ezra always was a disappointment in little league baseball: championship series

the new songs expanded nicely when they played them out live at red rocks. i figured them for a tinny, unimpressive live band but it was rather nice. strange that most of the crowd seemed to be there for 'of monsters and men' though especially since their ska song is their only one that isn't dreadful.

calling god "sweet thing" in "ya hey" is one of my favorite lyrical moments of the year, maybe ever.

this sags in places but the 123 of unbelievers>step>diane young is pretty incredible

The second half is a bit weaker... but it has "ya hey" !
Actually there are only 3 tracks that I don't like a lot (for now) : "don't lie" and "worship you" which are a bit too simple/basic to my taste and "hudson" which has an interesting mood but I never WANT to listen to it.
I went to their concert in Paris on Wednesday. It was a good time. they are not the greatest show on earth or anything but they have the songs, perform them well and are likeable.

I agree they front-loaded this, but there's not really any filler. I like "Hudson" as a closer, in mood it reminds me of "Fin" from Pavement's Brighten the Corners.

Yeah "Hudson" is very good as a closer in concept and I'm fine with it when I let the whole album flow. It's just that as a standalone song I don't enjoy it much.

Well, I can't imagine I would like to hear it on it's own, but since it's not released as a single or anything, I can't see why it is a problem? It works in the way it is supposed to work.

dont lie + hannah hunt are my favs

weird

xpost
yeah yeah, true.
"hannah hunt" is fantastic.

It is very good but man does it make me think of Dylan ("its all over now baby blue" esp.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG6lTQNW04I

Who's Jesus?

So Rostam's brother is director Zal Batmanglij of new movie "The East"

not crazy about that vid

me neither. Looks like a failed retread of "Giving Up the Gun"'s ideas.

I keep forgetting how hot their drummer is

this album is ok. i like 3 songs.

That dude went to my high school

Xp the drummer i mean. It was before my time though

least surprising treeship facts

This band has never listened to Bo Diddley, have they?

are you implying that they don't know diddley

please tell me that's what you're implying

please

They don't.

man these punch-outs on Worship You sound unusually sloppy/awkward

Third time listening to Hannah Hunt today. Damn earworm.

I woke up with it in my head this morning.

Esp from ~2:40ish onward, that song rules

Unbelievers is the jam

whoever ref'd the Kinks upthread otm

co-sign that ive played hannah hunt x5 every day for a while now

ah, I've had it stuck in my head over the last few days... even though I haven't listened to that record for a week !

I just heard "Step" for the first time yesterday. I love it a lot.

hate needing a late pass for an album that's been out for all of two months, but this is a tremendous album and a significant step up from the first two.

not feeling his vocal on "Diane Young" yet but the band is terrific. As for "Step," the "I feel it in my b-o-o-nes" hook is stuck in my head.

― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, March 20, 2013 11:41 AM (3 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

the little vocal turn at the end of "boooones" is what makes the chorus for me

― ciderpress, Wednesday, March 20, 2013 11:41 AM (3 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

am surprised no one pointed out that this is straight out of the paul simon school of vocal phrasing, which is what makes me love it.

I think the Paul Simon comparison has been around since the band started !

well yes but i meant that line specifically

oh ok. there are so many Paul Simon moments in their catalogue. and that's fine !

I felt bad. I wanted to go and tell them that I didn’t think they were taking anything. So that’s what I told them. They said, “Do you think we are?” and I said, “No, I think you’re going to the same sources that I went to. You’re drawing from the same well. You’re trying to write interesting songs.” In a way, we were on the same pursuit, but I don’t think you’re lifting from me, and anyway, you’re welcome to it, because everybody’s lifting all the time. That’s the way music grows and is shaped. - Paul Simon

Now you tell us!- Los Lobos

"step" is definitely on par with their best songs for me (bar the embarassing/cringey modest mouse line) but i just don't like the sound they're going for on "diane young" and "unbelievers" though i think could see why people do

"A-Punk"/"Cousins" type joints have always been one of my favorite kinds of VW song and "Diane Young" is this album's equivalent

diane young is unbelievable. the vocals!

Diane Young is way better than Cousins - not as good as A-punk though.

I was reminded heavily of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot while listening to this one today. I like this one way better but it has the same sort of mood and scope.

"hannah hunt" and "young lion" are my favorites from this, but i'm a sap. probably their best album

The final stretch is perfect imo: the big thematic summing-up, the glum ending and the brief, reassuring coda.

"young lion" ? really ? it's nice but a bit minor for me.
actually, I rarely listen to the end of the album, after "ya hey".

the first is still my favourite but this one is very good indeed. better than "Contra" which, somehow, won the poll !

It's meant to be minor. After an album consumed by worries about ebbing youth and fear of death, it's perfect just having Rostam croon "Take your time, young lion" for two very pretty minutes.

I found myself singing the chorus to 'Step' so much I decided to sit down and record a quick little cover on acoustic at the weekend https://soundcloud.com/doglatin/step-vampire-weekend-cover don't know if it's of interest, but anyway...

what struck me is how complex some of those lyric schemes are. you can hear me tripping over a lot of the pronunciations (crO-sus etc) - he fits so many syllables into a line but it never sounds not-fluid.

absolutely. ezra's lyrics are consistently superb. 'step' is their 'end of the world as we know it,' or 'we didn't start the fire,' except not annoying like that last one;)

I can't get "Step" outta my head either. I'll wake up humming the chorus, specifically "feel it in my bo-o-o-o-n-nes

It's meant to be minor. After an album consumed by worries about ebbing youth and fear of death, it's perfect just having Rostam croon "Take your time, young lion" for two very pretty minutes.

― Deafening silence (DL), Monday, July 8, 2013 3:54 AM Bookmark

the deus ex machina moment with god coming down to speak to Yung Ezra

why

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjBhfh909Ww

they're hoping to meet emily ratajkowsi under the pretext of doing a video parody tie in thing

this cover is awful though, especially the "uh huhs".

Pretty good cover, maybe? This is what Radio 1 Live Lounge is for tbh.

Hey, Dog Latin, great cover of "Step." Thanks for posting it.

thanks banjoboy

this album just keeps getting better and better and better, stoked for their NYC show at Barclays (?!)

Ezra Koenig ‏@arzE 38m

I pretend 2 look at the wine list rly hard and then just order the second cheapest one. U can apply this technique to anything

the second cheapest is usually the worst value. You're getting played Ezra

usually the cheapest is the best value, but you've got to subtly communicate to the waiter that you're smart enough to know this and not just stingy

Caramanica holds his nose.

But guys

guys look at Ezra's hair

That review needs more pictures of Ezra.

That review's wrong about almost everything.

http://waws-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/2013/09/IMG_0534.jpg

talk to the hobbit

I'd love to hear what was wrong about it. I mean, I don't really follow this band or that arena, but it seemed pretty ... even handed? Was the band actually awful? Transcendent?

Seemed even-handed to me also. DL, please explain?

one of the most important New York bands of this millennium

Sure, why not?

of this or any millennium

http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/argus456/argus4560902/argus456090200315/4385902-employee-of-the-month-certificate-with-some-stains.jpg

That's one thing. DL though says its "wrong about almost everything"...

i was there, loved it, they're at the peak of their powers. i had shit seats and it still sounded fine...this was their first full arena show ever btw, and it was PACKED. great show, great setlist,

xp I just think a lot of its claims are way off-base - saying that Ezra sounds suffocated by the production on the new album, that the lyrics don't matter so much this time around, that it's "not a surprising show" because they play songs from all three albums (?!), calling Walcott "subdued". It reads like he doesn't much like VW and hasn't ever given them much thought but can't get out of doing the review so has to come up with this weirdly unconvincing half-argument at the last minute. But nbd, it's impossible for any critic to get a firm handle on every artist.

That's how it reads to me.

sounds like he got "Walcott" and "Blake's Got a New Face" confused?

fiiiiinally getting into the new album (only picked it up recently), and "Step" is in my bones. feel like I need to sit down and ~think~ about what they're saying about religion a lot more before I "figure" this album out.

he spends most of the review saying that the songs don't quite fill the arena but the last paragraph suggests they sorta do, now, or something.

i recently bought this and it has a slip case. the actually CD only has the picture with no writing, which made it even cooler.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4qTq20P6qgo/UjkxcUtwB9I/AAAAAAAAAlU/xEDq0z09zMs/w500-h501-no/modern+vampires+of+the+city.jpg

actually CD actual CD case

josh rouse > vampire weekend

i listened to this album so much that i'm sort of burned out on it. still great however. my only complaint is that it is a bit too slow, or i wish they had a few more rocking songs.

heard "Unbelievers" on KROQ yesterday.

Finger Back might be my favorite.

I don't want to live like this, but i don't want to Dieeeeeeeeeeee

Best Act In The World according to the Q Awards
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/ellie-goulding-and-arctic-monkeys-beat-david-bowie-at-q-awards-8895016.html

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/01/07/vampire_weekend_covers_con_te_partiro_made_famous_by_andrea_bocelli_audio.html

ahah, it sounds like a muzak singer in a restaurant, with a cheap preprogrammed keyboard. yet, I find it strangely enjoyable...

Listening to this album for the first time. I like it!

just heard someone irl talking about getting from providence to phoenix.

Belatedly heard the Winter Remix of Step featuring Danny Brown, Heems and Despot, which is great. Brings the song back around to the Souls of Mischief track it was based on.

Free download here: https://twitter.com/vampireweekend/status/418132457825644544

I can imagine many Ilxors will be delighted to hear about this.

I am looking forward to hearing again from people who do not like Ezra's voice and/or face

My gifs and I are ready.

LOL u guise, negging on VW dude is so two weeks ago; we're all about which is the hottest member of Interpol now!

Finally checked this out recently (never checked out their LPs before) thanks to EOY lists. Holy cow, what a headsticky album. Almost painfully so. I was really sick a couple weekends ago and couldn't sleep, but as I passed in and out of dreams I couldn't shake the "Hannah Hunt" chorus. Really got to me I guess. Good record.

"don't lie" has turned into my favorite song off this (amazing, gets-better-every-time) album. there's something about the low, almost spoken word tone of the beginning of the second verse that just hits the spot for me

actually now that i'm thinking about it the octave jumps he employs on this record ("don't lie" above, the end of "hannah hunt", maybe there are others) seem like they'd fail in the hands of a lesser singer or songwriter but they're surprisingly affective here

"don't lie" is incredible

One look sends me to the ground
Young bloods can't be settling down
Young hearts need the pressure to pound

maybe my favorite ezra lyric

Yeah this LP is still the best.

this was my number two last year but if this did come out this year it would have easily been number one. i do think now it is my favorite of their three.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2lUqBIoehU

love this song for summer

Heck yeah- that's more in that loose, punky vein of their first album , before they got all mannerist.

Sister of Pearl is indeed splendid.

Rostam quit

https://twitter.com/matsoR/status/692033616268800000

err... so he will keep doing what he was doing (producing/arranging) but as an outsider ?
by the way, are there any news regarding a new album ?

What a stupid move. Selfish asshole

primary songwriter/producer leaves band but also not really?

wacky

excited for the ezra solo era but sad bcuz OG vampire weekend is one of the best bands of my life

The last VW album was a Koenig-Rostam album in all but name so I'm not surprised.

maybe they're dating

maybe they broke up

If VW's over I'm not that surprised, their career arc has kind of run its course, where would they go from here? They don't have it in them to be a stadium rock act, and they've probably hit the limit of their popular appeal.

those three albums are all great though, a stellar run if that's all they had in them

just announced: the new solo album from Ezra Koenig and His Hair

i guess it could kinda be like tommy ramone "quitting" the ramones?

those three albums are all great though, a stellar run if that's all they had in them

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, January 26, 2016 1:28 P

#Sotobait

just announced: the new solo album from Ezra Koenig and His Hair

― HYPERLINK TO RAP GENIUS (BradNelson),

#Sotobait

wiki says they formed in 2006, so they were a band for 10 years, i dunno that's a long time to be a band

I can think of few things I'd want to hear less than Koenig by himself on guitar or keys tbh

his hair does most of the work

https://media.giphy.com/media/7mSCBRscI4LM4/giphy.gif

sounds to me like rostam may still work on vw production but may not want to tour and do the whole grind? that's fine if so.

If VW's over I'm not that surprised, their career arc has kind of run its course, where would they go from here? They don't have it in them to be a stadium rock act, and they've probably hit the limit of their popular appeal.

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, January 26, 2016 1:28 PM (15 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I saw them at the Barclays Center in 2013 and they were great, sold out show, had the crowd in the palm of their hand

wiki says they formed in 2006, so they were a band for 10 years, i dunno that's a long time to be a band

― Amira, Queen of Creativity (upper mississippi shakedown), Tuesday, January 26, 2016 1:32 PM (11 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

not really for such a successful band, they're at their peak

I saw them on the 2013 tour too (dunno if it was sold out) but it was similarly great, crowd loved it - a really diverse crowd too, wide age/demo range afaict. But they're too oblique to really be a stadium filling top 40 act.

Have to admit, their appeal/popularity never clicked with me. Too fussy, I think. Still, been interesting seeing all the despairing reactions online today precisely because I had no connection to them -- it's just weird to me.

agreed with bladdy fird, this band are at their peak right now, if anything they are done with this cycle of albums and are free to go in new directions. i woudn't surprised to see Rostam as the producer for the next record(s). still it makes me sad.

I hated the third album so much that this news is leaving me completely blase; I feel like the band that I liked didn't exist anymore anyway so this is more the world aligning with what I already knew in my heart.

http://31.media.tumblr.com/4792e6166f6cfdd969e67f21ec462172/tumblr_mrp1hf4Q2z1qf86yjo1_500.gif

I didn't mean they nec were going downhill I just mean literally 10 years as a human being in a rock band is a long time to do that even if you are successful, like all the touring and travel and stuff

Oh, that's a huge bummer. I think all three of their albums are fantastic, third album neck and neck with the debut. Will be interesting to see each guy go his own way but I suspect neither is as good without the other. (by the by - who gets the drummer? He is a secret weapon on a lot of their songs.)

they've had two straight number 1 albums one of which was 2.5 years ago i'd hardly say they'd ran their course

if anything it felt to me like the most recent album was final proof that they wouldn't be defined by all the talk surrounding their first two records, and that they had a bunch of lasting and mature songs in them that maintained the spirit of their early records but weren't, you know, called "cape cod kwassa kwassa" and about madras

yeah I can understand people arguing the band had limits or whatever but not that they were past their commercial peak.

it seems like rostam just wants to be a pop songwriter. more power to him. he's been living in LA for a while i think so none of it is really surprising.

damn, bummer

damn, well it doesn't really say the broke up so they might go on without him. either way sad news.

From Ezra's Instagram:

A couple years ago, Rostam and I sat down at his house & talked abt whether our collaboration was dependent on being members of the same band. We both firmly agreed that nope, it was not. In fact, we agreed that our collaboration was more important.

I'm psyched about the work we've already begun for LP4 and I'm psyched to hear anything else Rostam is a part of.
Also very excited to continue playing music with CT and Baio but there will be plenty of time to talk about that later in the year.

For now in the Vampire Weekend universe, it's all about recording the next album. There will be a lot of familiar faces in the studio but also some fresh, new ones. Working title is "Mitsubishi Macchiato"...for obvious reasons.

obviously

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/ezra-koenig-talks-new-vampire-weekend-lp-rostam-batmanglijs-exit-20160126

well, it seems that won't change much. and then, maybe at some point they will start dating working with other producers.

gonna be real awkward with Ezra and the two Chris's on stage

VW are huge. You might dislike them but sales-wise they still have momentum for a few more successful albums. Only reason people would stop paying attention at this point is if they went extremely bland or extremely edgy. With Rostam gone from the equation it's left to see what happens, I think he balanced those two aspects pretty good. Apparently it's an amicable separation so they should at least hire him for production in any subsequent VW album.

fwiw I though they went extremely bland on the last album and a lot of people ate that shit up

Ariel Rechtshaid is becoming one of my favorite working producers so if he is on board for the next album I wouldn't worry too much.

I'm glad they're playing a show so soon after this was announced. I wonder if they'll have a hired hand or go on as a three piece? They must need a keyboard player.

Djp: that's their thing though they've always been a bland band with a little edge. The last album was more mellow but they still had some 'edge' on their production and arrangement choices: the raga-like percussions and solo on Worship You, the pitched voices on Ya Hey, Diane Young and Step are the ones I remember at the moment. That's what I mean I can see it going both ways, they could mellow even more and become to bland for their fans tolerate or up the slight 'experimental' choices they sometimes exhibit and alienate them.

DJP otm, last album had like two or three good songs and they weren't exactly not-boring themselves.

WRONG

yeah you can have that opinion but clearly it's a minority view

Yeah you can say they suck but that's just your opinion, facts are that it was pretty successful in sales (topping the charts with an independently distributed album is rarer than you think) and overall critical reception was favorable as far as I remember. Metacritic gives it an 84 score based on 51 reviews. I wouldn't consider it a failure even if it's not your cup of tea.

last album so obviously their only good one

Moka, are you saying, "The last album was awesome, as the sales showed"?

Moka, are you saying, "The last album was awesome, as the sales showed"?

― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn)

Sales showed audience is still on board with them, positive reviews showed the album was awesome.

The sell the records, they fill the shows, they get the critical praise. In which metric would you like to measure the album? ILM praise?

It ended up #1 of the ILM 2013 poll.

If it's good, it's because you think it's good, other metrics be damned. I'm glad they've enjoyed two consecutive #1 albums and still sell out medium-sized venues (I liked the last album but preferred Contra, which is one of my favorite albums of the millenium)

^^^^^

I thought we were discussing if the band had reached its commercial/popularity peak.

Time will tell if we pass the test of time.

Was mostly cosigning the awesomeness of Contra

imo ur all contras

Koenig wrote "Unbelievers" by himself but I suspect Rostam writes and arranges most of the music. Gonna be hard finding someone whose sensibilities mesh so well w/his. That's the fascination: the intricate, meticulous arrangements complicate (and queer) Koenig's OK vocals.

VW are (were) my favourite band of the decade (so far)

yeah i think so mine too

Koenig wrote "Unbelievers" by himself

didn't know this but am not surprised - that is such a "song written by a guitar player" song

Listening to Modern Vampires and it's impossible to imagine this band without Rostam.

Koenig wrote "Unbelievers" by himself

didn't know this but am not surprised - that is such a "song written by a guitar player" song

― Οὖτις, Wednesday, January 27, 2016 4:52 PM (4 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is so otm and that's what bums me out- the production on this song in particular is incredible and elevates an otherwise iffy acoustic guitar song. i remember watching a video of them playing the song a year before the record came out and it sounded so weak- they've gone further and further into studiohead territory with each record, the last thing i want to see them do is some 'return to form'...

People who listen to the sound vs. People who pay attention to the words

Can't we do both?

That's an interesting thread idea, except I think there's more to it than just sound vs words. Like, recording vs mix vs lyric vs melody vs composition?

good thread idea but personally I don't think I've ever thought about music broken down in that way unless it's something I myself have produced or if I'm listening to a track for that specific analytical reason.

(FWIW I'm definitely not a lyrics person, but bands like VW and Pavement are a bit of an exception because the lyrics make up so much a part of the sound)

I don't know why I still have this thread bookmarked

That's an interesting thread idea

feel like it's been done on like 10000 threads already and it just degenerates into alfred talking about new order

https://twitter.com/arze/status/780127635221323776

well, good!

Mitsubishi Macchiato (working title)
https://www.stereogum.com/1975166/new-vampire-weekend-album-is-inspired-by-kacey-musgraves-features-ariel-rechtshaid-and-rostam/news/

pfff... 5 years since the latest album... get to work already !
aaah kids these days : they're killing me taking so much time making an album.
I'm glad to know they're not making a trap album, though !

that working title though, verging on self-parody... fun, though!

I'm also reassured to know Rostam is still involved on some tracks.
Their music might be a bit too stark without him.

I kinda do want to hear the Vampire Weekend trap album though :(

Let us appreciate this band's remarkable run of 3 basically perfect albums before they potentially fuck it up with the new one. Hope springs eternal but 5 years since their last album + key member leaving...

Most bands don't have 3 albums as good as these three have been, I am ready for post-peak VW and if it isn't well then ...hurray!

True

I just re-listened to "Modern Vampires" recently for the first time in a while. It's definitely got plenty of earworms on it, but something about the "20-something guy realizes we all die- news at 11" earnestness of it falls a bit flat for me.

That's funny, I relistened to it for the first time in forever recently too, but by the time it ended I thought it might be my favourite album of the decade

But it was the second show that offered a teasing glimpse at the band’s future, as they debuted new track ‘Flower Moon’.

Footage of the performance has since emerged online, with singer Ezra Koenig reportedly confirming that the track features an appearance from The Internet’s Steve Lacy.

And after Rostam Batmanglij left the group in 2016, the new-look Vampire Weekend saw Springtime Carnivore’s Greta Morgan on keys and Brian Robert Jones from Human Natural on guitar.

https://www.nme.com/news/music/vampire-weekend-debut-new-tracks-first-full-show-four-years-2340276#ZxFofRQwu0ymsYEY.99

Anyone watched Neo Yokyo?

Nope

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFiWggOsk2E

the new expanded live lineup sounds very good, and Rostam is still involved to some extent with the new album, so I'm optimistic. MVOTC was their weakest album so far but still quite good

I wonder if they are using the word 'mitsubishi' the way I remember it.

Great live version !
Very full and organic.
Still a shame to take so long to release the next album though !

great performance

So when's the album supposed to be released again ?
About this live performance it's funny that ALL the people in the audience are white (except maybe one person, not too sure !).

i'd be pretty surprised if there's no announcement in the next month or two but they still haven't said much definite

https://pitchfork.com/news/ezra-koenig-says-new-vampire-weekend-album-is-done/
https://consequenceofsound.net/2018/08/vampire-weekend-sony/

album is being mastered currently and according to sony financial reports will be out before the end of september!

They signed to Sony so I guess they’re not indie anymore. Hope they don’t go the same way as Arcade Fire who decided to go ironically corporate.

I think everyone learned something from Everything Now

Looks like they're a lounge act / jam band now. Love it https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/vampire-weekend/2018/grant-park-chicago-il-43eb6fbb.html

is that setlist real?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jA-ItUdutVo

here's more of them showing their newfound jam band side

It’s a bit like their rolling thunder revue tour. Ezra should wear a hat with flowers.

talking heads vibe too

Proud papa:

https://www.popsugar.com/celebrity/Rashida-Jones-Gives-Birth-First-Child-45315821

Whoa -- I didn't know those two were a couple

:(

they are a handsome couple so i'm sure they produced a very beautiful baby. congrats to the couple.

my wife is up on this stuff and had no idea they were a couple

I wanted Ezra to impregnate me tbh

It seems there wasn't any new songs played in the recent dates, can someone confirm this?

it seems that this band rules imo

They hold a very special in my heart.

No new songs. I think they might've played one, like, once. Kinda concerned about the new album. Hope I'm wrong.

listening to "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" recently reminded me of how infuriated I was when the debut came out and was praised to the sky - I guess at the time I couldn't handle the idea that something so slight and empty of any emotion but primitive joy would be worthy of the sort of attention it received

and now I see the effortlessness is the appeal, something that's actually hard to find - a friend recently compared Paul Simon's lyrics to cocktail party banter gone good, and while I'm not sure that's otm I think it is for what Ezra did on that first album

tbh I was so pissed at the time I never listened to the entire thing, pretty frontloaded too:

1. "Mansard Roof" 2:07
2. "Oxford Comma" 3:15
3. "A-Punk" 2:17
4. "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" 3:34

also, at the time I didn't really hear the African influence... boy, those were different days in my musical journey!

I had the same experience as you with Vampire Weekend and kind of dismissed them as a bit flimsy and lightweight. I couldn't really understand why people were rating them so much. I think it was the last album that really turned me round to them and made me revisit the other two

yeah, same, was quite impressed with Step, Ya Hey and Hannah Hunt - funny it would take an "ambitious" album to make me embrace their more lightweight stuff

Yep same here. I still can't get into Contra much, but I liked the first album way more after hearing the third

I ranked them this way:

Contra
Modern Vampires
s/t

i think i'd rank them in reverse order of their release dates

all three are so tied to the time in my life I heard them. can't think of another band I followed in real time that had significant, fairly evenly spaced gaps: I was 15 when the debut came out, 17 at Contra, 21 at Modern Vampires. Love them all, and somehow the simplicity/minimalism of the debut's melodies and its uncomplicated prep school lyrics remain fresh for me. Ezra is an underrated guitarist imo, and it's only on the debut where he really shines throughout as a player because almost all of the songs rest on his riffs.

cousins is the blistering showcase for the chops of all four guys.

yeah that one is the only 'throwback' on Contra, which is so wonderful & diverse it feels like a greatest hits comp. iirc there isn't a guitar riff driven song on Modern Vampires, though Unbelievers feels close.

rostam's piano is the main driving instrument on MVITC, which is fitting if it's his swan song.

that album is Ezra/Rostam for the most part, with the other two letting their parts get filled in later.

yeah Modern Vampires is more architectural, not as colorful as Contra but similarly fussed over. there's much more negative space on Modern Vampires whereas Contra is like a layer cake. they're both 'studio records' unlike the debut which gives the impression it was recorded in a day or two.

Meditations on death are easier to come by in pop than meditations on class, so i rate the debut over Vampires, and Contra over both

imo the emphasis on death and aging is exaggerated, that sort of class critique and observation is still all over Modern Vampires. Contra feels like 10 self contained stories and the other two are more conceptual & hang together.

all the negative space on Modern Vampires just makes it feel hollow to me, there's little to support the weight of the orchestration etc. easily has some of their weakest songs in Everlasting Arms, Finger Back, Worship You and Hudson.

Contra is easily their best