Welcome to Episode 45 of This is Not Happening. An Album of the Month Podcast where in Part 1 we deep dive into an Album that one of us has chosen and in Part 2 we play ‘Spin it or Bin it’. This is where we pick a theme and each select a song that represents that theme. We judge each others selections by asking the question ‘Spin It or Bin It’?
This month, in Part 1, we dive right into the deep-end of ‘Only God Was Above Us’ the new album from TINH favourite (at least 3 of us) Vampire Weekend. This month we’re in the capable hands of Nolan who has introduces the album and guides us through some key questions and an interesting conversation. In Part 2 we play Spin it or Bin It with songs that are all. ‘a little bit country’.
Part 1 | Vampire Weekend | Only God Was Above Us
My god Vampire Weekend can write a song! And this album really proves that. We answer (or at least attempt to answer) some big questions – is this best Vampire Weekend album? How do you pick a favourite track when they’re all so good and do such different things.
Part 2 | Spin It or Bin It | ‘A little bit country’
Country is massive in 2024 … and Guy hates it. So, what other theme could we choose? The clue is in the title, the tracks only have to be ‘a little bit country’. 4 Track playlist of our chosen tracks is here.
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.
So here we are, October, the last 4 months have flown by and much of the music I have been listening to has been from the blog funny enough. This in-turn has resulted in me looking back to an album that filled much of the first half of 2016 for me but I have enjoyed listening to once again. On that note, I was late to the game on this as it came out last year.
I spent much of this past weekend thinking how was the best way to say “Sure he’s in Vampire Weekend, but I didn’t know this until about two months after buying this album and it was best to approach it this way in retrospect. I think I would have been letdown if I wanted an extension of the Vampire Weekend albums that I love so much.”
The fact is that I discovered him through a Coma remix he did and my interest grew from there.
On first impressions it look me a while to get my head around Baio and what he was up to. Electro synths with melodies and at times what I though was over exaggerated 80’s vocals. That in mind I liked it, and soon the vocals that made me unsure became essential to glueing together this album.
‘The Names’ was the track that cracked it for me and strangely watching the video a few weeks after getting into the album was very similar to how I pictured it in my head.
“I was Born In A Marathon’ goes deep into the rave, and I can easily picturing myself losing my shit o this in a festival field. I ‘ve risen my hands to this song on more occasions than I can think in the Car, doing chores at home and and once in the co-op on a Sunday morning with my headphones on. I have read that he used to be a DJ and the 4/4 beats do make a strong appearance throughout this album.
In 9 songs he bounces around a bit on this album. Perhaps it’s the luxury of someone that can do this knowing you can always fall back on your main project. The versatility of the 9 songs is one of the things I like about this album… It’s got a bit of everything.
Perhaps if I was to talk about the elephant in the room ‘Sister of Pearl’ reflects a Vampire Weekend influence, but hey, it’s not a bad thing. Baio in my opinion is far from hanging his hat on his Vampire Weekend work and has released a fantastic album.
I do hope you enjoy the album as much as me. It’s also worth checking out his EP’s on Spotify.
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