Translated by Bárbara Emídio and Lourenço Ramos
With a total back to basics, although through a mature and fresh lens, Vampire Weekend return with a masterpiece that reminds us of what nostalgia in music is, done right.
For context, it is worthwhile to briefly recap the New York-formed group’s journey to their fifth and most recent album. It was 16 years ago already, in 2008, that Vampire Weekend released their self-titled debut studio album, making a big splash in the indie rock scene. Not only did they bring the singer-songwriter spirit from New York, they also took influences a little bit from everywhere. From Jamaican ska, to bongos and even African guitar riffs, the band earned a prestigious spot in the alternative rock scene. They were soon compared to Paul Simon or Talking Heads. In addition to the acclaim the album received, the song “A-Punk” also captivated mainstream audiences, thus giving rise to their great commercial success, never surpassed since then. With the exceptional balance their debut album had been received with, the band felt comfortable releasing another album in 2010. Along with the variety of sounds and influence of its predecessor, “Contra” solidified Vampire Weekend's sound and simultaneously silenced accusations that they were mere one-hit wonders.
However, only in 2013 did the group truly cement themselves at the center of indie rock's zeitgeist. In “Modern Vampires of the City,” they showcase the peak of their qualities, chemistry and talent, and at all levels. Their third release, the pinnacle of their career (at least until “Only God Was Above Us”), is, above all, a statement in which the group finally claims its well-deserved status of a generational 21st century alternative rock sensation. A reference in 2010s music, it’s a brilliant landmark from start to finish. From the already modern classics such as “Unbelievers”, “Diane Young”, “Ya Hey” and “Worship You”, to simultaneously memorable moments, although coming from Ezra Koenig's (the group's leader and vocalist) sadder singer-songwriter side, such as “Step”, “Obvious Bicycle” or “Hannah Hunt”. The power, and, consequently, the pressure in these four boys' hands became clear here. Perhaps their 6-year hiatus is precisely justified by such success, and the expectations their fans had. After “Modern Vampires of the City”, Ezra and the rest of the group had achieved any band's dream in only five years: from cheerful and lively surprise in the late 2000s to acclaimed and established musicians representing a generation in the early 2010s. As a result, their decision to take a hiatus came naturally. Meanwhile, keyboard player and composer Rostam Batmanglij also left the group, pursuing a personal and artistic search in a world away from the band’s success.
Just one year before the pandemic which shook the world to its knees, Vampire Weekend return with their fourth studio album. A strange moment of transition and search for musical and existential meaning among the confusion of unforeseen fame. A double album that explores all of their previously covered musical styles—and even more—at an unprecedented level, “Father of the Bride” allowed the band to do just that: a musical quest with no limits, open to new lyrical and, more importantly, sonic horizons. However, it resulted in a certain creative rush where, unfortunately, experimentation is privileged to its detriment, giving rise to total inconsistency, with unremarkable tracks and rare genius moments, rather than a cohesive and consolidated project, conscious of its limits (which the band had previously achieved 3 times). “Father of the Bride” is, however, a highly commendable artistic blow. And fortunately, tremendously valuable events descend from it. Among them, one of the best songs from their entire repertoire, “Harmony Hall”, stands out, and so do “This Life”, “Unbearably White”, “Sympathy” (ironically and probably purposefully similar to “Sympathy For the Devil” by The Rolling Stones), both collaborations with Steve Lacy, and also Daniele Haim's (member and leader of the band Haim, along with her 2 sisters) contributions. In any case, the discourse around “Father of the Bride” conveys a certain feeling that this was a strange period relative to what the previous years were: distinguished by the consistent quality their first three albums carried alongside them.
Perhaps these turbulent circumstances were for the better, so as to bring the group's signature focus and coherence together, seeing as, on April 5, 2024, we were offered an authentic artistic gift under the title “Only God Was Above Us”.
Five years had passed anticipating a new addition to an already robust, nearly two-decade-long discography. On February 16, Vampire Weekend broke the silence by launching a double single: “Capricorn” and “Gen-X Cops”. The first one offers us a total journey back in time to the “Modern Vampires of the City” era. The simple chord progression, the piano in arpeggio, the emotional catharsis accompanied by feedback and a stunning distortion, and even a follow-up music video that portrays 1970s pre-Gentrification New York City admirably. All while simultaneously sounding new, like a breath of fresh air. Vampire Weekend at their best. The second track, “Gen-X Cops,” although not as obvious, is also a return to the mid-2010s. This time, the song opens with an abrupt, unconventional guitar riff that promises some strangeness the first time listening to it: it leads us to seriously question whether this really works. However, after several listens, the answer is clear: yes. Enigmatically, what first sounded like an alarm clock ends up perfectly matching the instruments.
With this, there was no doubt that we were a few months away from a worthy return. This theory would be fueled less than a month later on February 14, by the song “Classical”, and on March 28, by "Mary Boone”. In “Classical”, the musicality and instrumental chemistry between each member are showcased at their best. The track is a colossal explosion of creativity that results in yet another artistic step distinguished by total cacophony, although still organized and stimulating in every imaginable sense. A composition that is highly heterodox but, in a bizarre way, pleasant to the ear, which once again shows just how genius all three members are. However, I emphasize the song at a lyrical level with even more urgency and priority, where Koenig’s excellence is no exception. This time an illustration of the eternal reflection and deliberation by the revolutionary idealist and its concerns about the post-revolution scenario: will it be better than the current one? What changes in the future? And what’s left of the past? And above all, the hard-to-accept but inevitable conclusion of what appears to unfold recurringly throughout Civilizational History: Why is it that what we once thought were the worst demonstrations of evil and the most cruel figures and symbols of yesteryear are now the most esteemed ideas and thoughts? In one way or another, does power never seem to leave its place? Doesn't the entity that exercises it always end up being the same/previous one? Or will it be only the archaic and (unfortunately) recognized oracle of human irresistibility in the face of power and corruption—the constant and inevitable obstacles to eternal peace and mankind's emancipation—to prove itself once again?
“Untrue, unkind and unnatural
How the cruel, with time, becomes classical
I know that walls fall, shacks shake
Bridges burn and bodies break
It's clear something's gonna change
And when it does, which classical remains?”
In a constant state of ambiguity, realism and cynicism meet in their splendor and ready to conquer what remains of the rebellious spirit. In “Mary Boone,” titled after a New York City art dealer, an elegant choir echoes in the ears, until a suspense break by a battery that sounds the most like a sample of hip-hop or trip-hop but that, strangely, fits brilliantly into the angelical environment that preceded it. The same happens around once or twice again until the final five minutes of the song reach a brilliant and grand finale.
A week later, “Only God Was Above Us” is released on streaming platforms and CD and vinyl stores. Would the anticipation be in sight of a giant disappointment, or of unrivalled satisfaction? Having already heard the disc from front to back, back to front, more than 10 times, I feel safe in stating that the scenario I was faced with was the latter. Phenomenons such as the one on April 5 are not common. What is the accumulation of suspense, pressure, unattainable expectations felt by a certain demographic collective regarding a given occurrence, is rarely corresponded to consensual and universal contentment, as soon as such occurrence- I pass the pleonasm - occurs. However, I suspect that this was precisely what happened this time.
They're back. And I note that this expression is not only used in a literal sense. The sound of "Vampire Weekend" is back. The sound of the past is back. Pre-COVID memories are back. My carelessness and euphoric youth that characterizes my childhood so much is back. Only an electronic device away, 47 minutes capable of making me reignite my child’s happiness, and thus remember part of my essence as well, are available to me.
But the project, which is the most ambitious (after perhaps “Father of the Bride”) of all, is not just about the nostalgia and the superfluous and immediate fan satisfaction that would accept anything that would reach their ears. And for that reason, “Only God Was Above Us” is, by me, elevated to a level only rivaled by “Modern Vampires of the City.” Koenig and company resume previous themes and sounds with, however, a certain maturity and wisdom that is offered to us only with the experience of time. It is the charming letters, the subjects addressed, the prophecies given. As if it wasn't expected, the band’s fifth album speaks – and not just a little – of New York (as witnessed by the cover). From a city previously devoid of gentrification and currently a victim of 21st century globalization that prioritizes financial banks to music bars, and M&M’s stores to pornographic cinemas. From a distant New York in the system of the space-time in which the band’s own members barely lived. Not only because of the time they were born but also because of their well-known highly comfortable financial and social situations they have always met (very well satirized in “Prep-School Gangsters”). Not always successful by popular culture, the “love letters to New York”, often boring and mostly unjust to what they so passionately try to honor, become tragic and authentic parodies of themselves. But Ezra Koenig can seemingly effortlessly always be the exception in this regard (such as James Murphy and the LCD Soundsystem).
Also mentioned are issues such as generational gaps, the search for personal meaning, and a feeling of constant and cyclical war. This war can take the form of war but also temporal, social, cultural or emotional. Right in the first song “Ice Cream Piano” (wordplay with the chorus “I scream piano”), Koenig regrets:
“You don’t want to win this war 'cause you don’t want the peace
Armistice, we never tried it
You're the soldier,
I'm police
Listen, baby, we can't deny it
You don’t want to win this war 'cause you don't want the peace (...)
We're all the sons and daughters of vampires who drained the old world's necks"
Following the energetic and dramatic introduction that is the first track, the singles “Classical” and “Capricorn” follow. Next, comes “Connect”, in which the vocalist seeks emotional peace and a personal reconciliation with the world around him:
“Now is it strange I can’t connect? (...)
I know once it's lost it's never found
I need it now
The grid is buried in the ground
Hopelessly down"
In “Prep-School Gangsters”, the band achieves a new hit that will certainly be recalled as one of the most celebrated moments on the record, which, in addition to exhibiting a brilliant musicality (once more inspired by Paul Simon’s Afro-centrism of “Graceland”), comments on the disturbing and tragically ironic life adopted by the boys of a privileged social class (those who therefore have the privilege of attending a prep-school or an ivy-league). Glorifying the lifestyle of the drug dealers and street groups that live in precarious situations, mimic their steps, go to the most unpleasant places and practice the least recommended activities:
“I was tired but wakin’ up
I was dying to test my luck
Prep-school gangsters barred the way
There was nothin' I could say”
In “The Surfer”, pure poetry once again illustrates the city and its daily life. In “Gen-X Cops” the generational issue is explicitly addressed: “Each generation makes its own apology”. After "Mary Boone", in "Pravda" (Russian for the word "truth") Koenig appears, to the sound of guitars similar to those in "Prep-School Gangsters", closer to a solution to this hypothetical and multifaceted war that runs as the reigning theme on the album, from beginning to end:
“Your consciousness is not my problem
‘Cause when I come home, it won’t be home to you’
We have “Hope,” the tenth and final song. For more than 7 minutes, it is a clear conclusion of the conflict at hand along the disc. During the course of the song, several instances are mentioned in which the disassociation of disputes and confrontations, regardless of their nature, are not as desired. In this sense, it recovers the pessimistic and cynical message in “Classical”. However, the protagonist is no longer in denial and accepts the outcome of this current war, regardless of its consequent effects, through the repetition of a melancholic call to universal assent:
“I hope you let it go
Hope you let it go
The enemy's invincible
I hope you let it go"
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