As we’ve discussed for many years; making music is tough, consistently making fantastic music is near impossible. Vampire Weekend’s span has placed well placed albums that have all sounded great and have stood the test of time. Not bad going, nevertheless resulting in high hopes for their latest release ‘Only God Was Above Us’.
Since their debut (2008’s self titled Vampire Weekend) I’ve been a big fan of the band. It was like they were the perfect band for me. With a well balanced mixture of something old, something new, something borrowed and something Paul Simon they filled a gap that was missing. Over their previous four albums they’ve created some of the best songs to dance, sing and not know all the words to over the years. Although a pod favourite, we have only reviewed one Vampire Weekend album previously (2013’s Modern Vampire’s of the City) the love for this band has never been hidden within the ThisIsNotHappening crew.
The initial singles were great, though listening to the album as a whole for me resulted in pure joy and excitement. There’s a well-rounded confidence on this album. The evolution from their first album has been evident through their previous albums. Only God Was Above Us exudes a confidence that they have found the sound they’ve been working towards. Brother David has already (controversially) argued that this may be their best album.
So what’s so good about the album? Each song holds its own for me which says a lot. Classical is a great example of the band’s ever so slight evolution as it tips its’ cap to the experienced ensemble at their best. Creating a welcoming hug of a song that makes you want to dance and sing along like you’ve heard the song a million times before and it’s full of memories. For clarity my wife isn’t fully sold. It’s too screechy for her. I get it what’s she’s saying; but I sort of think it makes the song.
I’ve read a few reviews of this album, and have listened to a few internet audio reviews. They generally have been very good. One unnamed reviewer had issues with The Surfer. He said it let the album down. I disagree. It nicely breaks up the album…. And it’s SO Vampire Weekend. And there it is. This is a band that have their own distinct sound. I get that their influences are vast and obvious at times. But they’ve found a seamless way of navigating through a mish mash of things that shouldn’t work together. With each album this melting pot has been more complex. With this album they seem to have found their purple patch. Connect is a great example of this. What could be a very confusing song is just, well, sonically brilliant.
Whilst previous albums have presented a Riddler like lyric sheet from Ezra Koenig, his lyrics seems less aloof this time around. Not downplaying their content and meaning as there’s a lot to go at. Perhaps his accomplished approach has allowed confidence in more upfront lyrics to communicate his thoughts? Is there anyone that makes talking about mortality, plus his and others emotions so well whilst sounding like he’s having fun?
Each song is a joy to the ears, complimented by seamless programming. Hope is a wonderful album finisher. It’s wall of sound delight. An eight minute wave goodbye (ironically) delving into not trying too hard letting go.
With the exception of their debut album, none of their albums have clicked as quickly as Only God Above Us for me. Currently at #6 on Metacritics best albums of 2024 (at time of writing in mid April), the latest effort from Vampire Weekend has already embedding itself into the hearts of many (me included). It will struggle to stay out of my top 10 for the year. But is the familiar nostalgia enough to tick the rest of your boxes. I look forward to your thoughts.
thisisnothappening.net 
I find myself coming to another album as a relative outsider. When we did Modern Vampires, it was – bar a few admired singles – the first time I’d really delved into their world. Luckily it was one of their finest works and I absolutely loved it (but not perhaps quite as much as Pitchfork did. 9.4!). I recently delved back into this as aprt of the research for this episode and I found it just as fresh and vibrant as I did back in 2013.
But that’s not the subject here, just context. I have so little history with the outfit that I find myself a semi-curious observer: there’s a band most of the four of us adore, and I try to just let the music wash over me without the baggage of expectation or distance from the significance others feel. But I also know comparison is the devil here.
While I have less history to lean on, it’s still not hard to be impressed with the first listen of Only God Was Above Us. An eminently digestible 47 minutes was a good start, though a less family friendly ‘Fuck the world’ opening stanza of Ice Cream Piano greeted me. Is this a slow opener? No, launching into those famous shuffling, double-time march of snares at the halfway mark and the harmonies immediately mark it out as a ‘Vampire Weekend Record, even if the band is one member (officially) short still, we’re here with strings, horns, double bass and a wall of sound. They’re back!
And while it’s obviously them, there’s some interesting stuff going on here that notches it forward, even to my untrained ear. There’s a lot of vocal transformation. Reverb, echo, distortion, (where Modern Vampires sped up and slowed down Ezra Koenig’s distinctive, reedy delivery) and it adds another layer to the band’s massive death-star size musical universe of critical adoration and fandom. The great songs come thick and fast: Classical, with its look back across the decades “How the cruel, with time, becomes classical’. It sets the tone of an album that looks forever back into the past, to their New York home, even as they stare from the West Coast. The screeching sax that nods to Bowie (for me) is a joy.
Early single Capricorn is another classic, a piano-driven lament. Is it lost love? Is it a paen to New York itself? The lyrics are a bit more digestible, but still obtuse. But that’s how it is, right? You just let them glide by you, trying to grab meanings where you can. The Surfer brings bright, Beatles-y guitar with all sorts of subtle transformation of the layers of melody and it’s one of my favourites. Gen-X Cops rattles along with fervour, stating “every generation makes its own apology”. You guess that, now into their 40s, its Vampire Weekend no longer the young turks, but looking ahead and back, perhaps unsure of their position any more.
Mary Boone also stands out, with its references to the disgraced titular art dealer, but there’s a real hip-hop feel (is it Soul II Soul’s sample?) and as overtly looking back and referencing the past as any of the songs on the album. And it finishes on an outstanding track, the best on the record for me: Hope’s request to move on, perhaps jogging the band out of their reminiscence.
But here’s the thing: I really enjoy listening to this. I hum the tracks at the oddest times. But I don’t love it. Not yet. Not as much as Modern Vampires. I can’t put my finger on why. Its’ a fantastic record, but it’s not quite got its claws in. There’s still time, of course.
Usual sporadic bullet point thoughts …
Interesting to hear you think it’s better than Modern Vampires. I think that’s a step ahead of this and this is a really good album. But then I’m really a two album VW man. So wtf do I know!
Oh and I totally get the ‘tinny’ comment Joey It’s very much deliberately slightly treble-y. I’m not sure why but that also gets exacerbated by the reverb and distortion. Or perhaps it’s all two sides of the same coin.
Sorry for being so late on this. It has, however, given me the opportunity to live with the album for a while, and it’s helped me confirm that this is a) absolutely one of the albums of the year and b) is maybe even VW’s crowning glory (as Joey also claims!).
God, where do begin? Can I remember an album that has such high quality control, on which there isn’t a single weak track, that’s sequenced beautifully. Can I think of another recent album that has songs so brilliantly constructed, with such memorable melodies, that I actually sometimes find myself listening to them thinking I already knew them of old?
I know you’ve already mentioned the Paul Simon comparison I was making when we first talked about this record, but really, isn’t Koenig that good? He has such an ear for melodies that he seems to pluck out of the sky. And his lyrics feel both relatable and totally mysterious, riffing on his old obsessions of the detritus of human culture, a god-filled or godless universe and our place in the world. In short, he’s the perfect pop song composer.
A word on the production, which I initially found jarring but has really really grown on me. The reverb heavy drums, the bar-room piano, the analog synths – they’ve clearly made a conscious decision to give this record a sound that feels homegrown and the opposite of sleek – and I don’t personally find it tinny! It’s quite a shift from their last (slightly underwhelming) effort, Father of the Bride. That back to basics approach has paid dividends because all you’re left with is the songs and the band playing them in a way that feels almost like you’re in the studio with them.
Highlights? Too many to choose, but Classical is instantly one of the best songs they’ve ever made, followed immediately by ridiculously good Capricorn. Also absolutely love Mary Boone and it’s joyful chugging 90s breakbeat drums .
What an absolute pleasure it’s been to play this record every single time. Right now, it’s tied with St Vincent as my AOTY. Bring on the rest of 2024 and let’s see who can top that!