Vampire Weekend | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Mixing well-read indie rock with joyful, Afro-pop-inspired melodies and rhythms, Vampire Weekend grew from one of the first bands to be championed by music bloggers into a chart-topping, Grammy Award-winning act that helped define the sound of indie music in the late 2000s and 2010s. After establishing the foundations of their bright, intricate style with 2008s Vampire Weekend, the band soon became hugely successful; theyre the first indie rock act to have two consecutive albums (2010s Contra and 2013s Modern Vampires of the City) enter the Billboard Hot 100 at number one. With each release, Vampire Weekends music grew more diverse, incorporating ska, hip-hop, and 80s pop influences that nevertheless complemented their signature style. Similarly, the band weathered the loss of founding member Rostam Batmanglij to deliver some of their most polished and ambitious work with 2019s Father of the Bride. Vocalist/guitarist Ezra Koenig, drummer Chris Baio, multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij, and bassist Chris Tomson met when they were finishing up their studies at Columbia University. They formed Vampire Weekend in early 2006 out of Koenig and Tomsons hip-hop collaboration LHomme Run. Taking their name from a short film Koenig worked on during the summer between his freshman and sophomore years, the band started out by playing gigs at the universitys literary societies and at parties. The following year, they issued their self-released eponymous EP as well as the "Mansard Roof" single on Abeano Records and the "A-Punk/Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" single on Free News Projects. Praise from music blogs led to several appearances at that years CMJ Music Marathon, and Vampire Weekend signed with XL Recordings soon after. The label reissued "Mansard Roof," and the band began recording their debut album in locations ranging from a barn to the band members apartments to Brooklyns Tree Fort studio. Arriving in January 2008, Vampire Weekend was one of the years most popular indie releases, debuting within the Top 20 of both the American and U.K. album charts; meanwhile, the singles "A-Punk" and "Oxford Comma" also charted in the U.S. and the U.K. The band then toured for the better part of two years, while Batmanglij gathered additional accolades by releasing an album with Discovery, his electro side project with Ra Ra Riots Wes Miles. During this time, Vampire Weekend returned to the studio to record their second album, Contra, which arrived in January 2010. Featuring the singles "Horchata" and "Cousins," the album debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 chart and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Music Album. Late in 2011, the band returned to the studio to record their third album with Ariel Rechtshaid, who co-produced the album with Batmanglij. The band wrote and recorded the album at New Yorks SlowDeath Studios, Hollywoods Vox Recording Studios, and Batmanglijs New York apartment. Described by Koenig as a darker, more organic set of songs, Modern Vampires of the City was released in May 2013. Like Contra, the album debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 -- making Vampire Weekend the first rock band on an independent label to enter the charts at number one with two consecutive albums -- and it also won the Grammy for Best Alternative Album in 2014. Early in 2016, Batmanglij announced he had left Vampire Weekend but would continue to play with them in the future. That year, the band began work on their fourth album with collaborators including Rechtshaid, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, Danielle Haim, and Dirty Projectors Dave Longstreth. Early in 2019, Vampire Weekend released pairs of songs, including Februarys "Harmony Hall" and "2021," before the arrival of the double album Father of the Bride that May on the Columbia Records imprint Spring Snow. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 8 Title: Vampire Weekend Released: 2007-04 Tracks: 11 Duration: 34:17 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Mansard Roof (02:07) 2 Oxford Comma (03:15) 3 A‐Punk (02:17) 4 Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa (03:34) 5 M79 (04:15) 6 Campus (02:56) 7 Bryn (02:13) 8 One (Blake’s Got a New Face) (03:13) 9 I Stand Corrected (02:39) 10 Walcott (03:41) 11 The Kids Don’t Stand a Chance (04:03) |
| Vampire Weekend : Allmusic album Review : With the Internet able to build up or tear down artists almost as soon as they start practicing, the advance word and intense scrutiny doesnt always do a band any favors. By the time theyve got a full-length album ready to go, the trend-spotters are already several Hot New Bands past them. Vampire Weekend started generating buzz in 2006 -- not long after they formed -- but their self-titled debut album didnt arrive until early 2008. Vampire Weekend also has just a handful of songs that havent been floating around the Net, which may disappoint the kind of people who like to post "First!" on message boards. This doesnt make those songs any less charming, however -- in fact, the band has spent the last year and a half making them even more charming, perfecting the culture collision of indie-, chamber-, and Afro-pop they call "Upper West Side Soweto" by making that unique hybrid of sounds feel completely effortless. So, Vampire Weekend ends up being a more or less official validation of the long-building buzz around the band, served up in packaging that uses the Futura typeface almost as stylishly as Wes Anderson. At times, the album sounds like someone trying to turn a Wes Anderson movie back into music (its no surprise that the bands keyboardist also writes film scores); theres a similarly precious yet adventurous feel here, as well as a kindred eye and ear for detail. Everything is concise, concentrated, distilled, vivid; Vampire Weekends world is extremely specific and meticulously crafted, and Vampire Weekend often feels like a concept album about preppy guys who grew up with classical music and recently got really into world music. Amazingly, instead of being alienating, the bands quirks are utterly winning. Scholarly grammar ("Oxford Comma") and architecture ("Mansard Roof") are springboards for songs with impulsive melodies, tricky rhythms, and syncopated basslines. Strings and harpsichords brush up against African-inspired chants on "M79," and lilting Afro-pop guitars and a skanking beat give way to Mellotrons on "A-Punk." Its a given that a band thats this high concept has hyper-literate lyrics: the singers name is the very writerly Ezra Koenig, and you almost expect to see footnotes in the albums liner notes. Once again, though, Vampire Weekends words are evocative instead of gimmicky. The irresistible "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" rhymes "Louis Vuitton" with "reggaeton" and "Benneton" and name-drops Peter Gabriel (though its clear the band spent more time with Paul Simons Graceland) without feeling contrived. "Campus" is another standout, with lines like "I see you walking across the campus...how am I supposed to pretend I never want to see you again?" throwing listeners into college life no matter what their age. Koenig has a boyish, hopeful quality to his voice that completes Vampire Weekend, especially on bittersweet but irrepressible songs like "I Stand Corrected" and album closer "The Kids Dont Stand a Chance." Fully realized debut albums like Vampire Weekend come along once in a great while, and these songs show that this band is smart, but not too smart for their own good. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 8 Title: Surrounded by the Surroundings of the Living Collage: Daytrotter Studio, Rock Island, IL, USA Released: 2007-10-22 Tracks: 5 Duration: 11:45 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Welcome to Daytrotter (00:17) 2 Bryn (02:02) 3 I Stand Corrected (02:21) 4 M79 (03:50) 5 Oxford Comma (03:15) |
 | Album: 3 of 8 Title: Contra Released: 2010-01-08 Tracks: 13 Duration: 50:50 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Horchata (03:26) 2 White Sky (02:58) 3 Holiday (02:18) 4 California English (02:30) 5 Taxi Cab (03:55) 6 Run (03:52) 7 Cousins (02:25) 8 Giving Up the Gun (04:46) 9 Diplomat’s Son (06:01) 10 I Think Ur a Contra (04:26) 1 Contramelt A (06:11) 2 Contramelt B (04:37) 3 Cousinz (Toy Selectah Mex-More remix) (03:21) |
| Contra : Allmusic album Review : The scholarly Upper West Side Soweto of Vampire Weekend’s debut sounded self-assured, but on Contra, they step out of their ivory tower with just as much confidence. In all senses of the term, this is a sophomore album. The band still flaunts the collegiate sense of discovery that made Vampire Weekend charming -- and sometimes too precious -- but with more maturity and creativity. Another Discovery is just as much of a force on Contra as any of the band’s much-noted influences (Afro-pop, Paul Simon’s Graceland): Rostam Batmanglij’s electro-hip-hop-pop project with Ra Ra Riot’s Wes Miles, which released its album LP after the pair found acclaim with their day jobs. While Vampire Weekend aren’t as shiny and sugary as Discovery, some of that adventurousness rubbed off on Batmanglij’s Contra production, which plays to the band’s biggest strength: inspired juxtaposition. The album’s artwork, which pairs a blonde WASP princess in a popped-collar polo shirt with the term given to Nicaraguan rebels, hints at the flair with which Vampire Weekend play mix-and-match on Contra. They throw listeners into the deep end with “Horchata,” which features a four-on-the-floor beat, thumb piano, rubbery synth bass, and massed harmonies -- almost everything except the spry guitars that helped define their first album. “California English” goes farther, tweaking Ezra Koenig’s yelp with Auto-Tune, the bête noire of those who value “realness” in their music; for Vampire Weekend, it’s just another instrument for them to play with. On paper, Contra’s hybrids seem more contrived than they actually sound: “Giving Up the Gun” fuses baile funk, house and stadium rock into a sweet melody propelled by choppy rhythms. “Diplomat’s Son” is even more far-fetched and fantastic, adding samples of M.I.A. and Toots & the Maytals -- exactly the kind of things you’d expect to hear on a young globetrotter’s iPod -- to nostalgic chamber pop. The album bustles with so many sounds and ideas that it challenges listeners to decide where to put their ears first, particularly on the single “Cousins,” a blur of guitars and jump-cut drums that sounds like abstract punk. Despite this busyness, Vampire Weekend are looser and less cryptic than on their debut, allowing them to tell stories like “Holiday,” an Iraqi war protest set to skanking guitars (ever the font snob, Koenig can’t resist mentioning a headline in “96-point Futura”). Even the few quiet moments are complex: “I Think UR a Contra” closes the album by wanting, and hating, the kind of privilege that brings “good schools and friends with pools.” And though the band is committed to change, the same joy that soared through Vampire Weekend pops up on “White Sky,” which boasts a melody so irrepressible that Paul Simon just might want to borrow it. With Contra, Vampire Weekend make Auto-Tune and real live guitars, Mexican drinks, Jamaican riffs and Upper West Side strings belong together, and this exciting lack of boundaries offers more possibilities than anyone could have expected. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 8 Title: iTunes Session Released: 2010-12-21 Tracks: 6 Duration: 18:08 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 A-Punk (02:22) 2 I’m Going Down (03:04) 3 Holiday (03:19) 4 Have I the Right (03:13) 5 Cousins (02:30) 6 Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa (03:40) |
 | Album: 5 of 8 Title: Modern Vampires of the City Released: 2013-05-06 Tracks: 12 Duration: 42:54 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Obvious Bicycle (04:11) 2 Unbelievers (03:22) 3 Step (04:11) 4 Diane Young (02:40) 5 Don’t Lie (03:33) 6 Hannah Hunt (03:57) 7 Everlasting Arms (03:03) 8 Finger Back (03:25) 9 Worship You (03:21) 10 Ya Hey (05:12) 11 Hudson (04:14) 12 Young Lion (01:45) |
| Modern Vampires of the City : Allmusic album Review : At the time of its release, Modern Vampires of the City was touted as a "deeper" offering from Vampire Weekend. While thats true to an extent, it downplays the equally heartfelt and clever songs on their first two albums. What is undeniable is that Modern Vampires is a lot less obviously showy than the bands previous work. They trade in Contras bright eclecticism for a less audacious production style and smaller instrumental palette: guitar, organ, harpsichord, and the occasional sample combine into a rarefied sound that suggests a more introspective version of their debut, and the band bookends the album with some of its most literal and insular chamber pop on "Obvious Bicycle" and "Young Lion." Modern Vampires quieter approach also showcases what might be most enduring about Vampire Weekends music -- endearing melodies and carefully crafted lyrics. It also fits Ezra Koenigs preoccupations on this set of songs, chief among them the fact that were all going to die. The band sums up all of this brilliantly on "Step," where the musics hip-hop beats and harpsichords reflect the allusions to Souls of Mischief and growing pains in Koenigs lyrics. Elsewhere, Vampire Weekend tones down the quirks that may have polarized listeners before; songs like "Everlasting Arms" and "Unbelievers" walk the fine line between cheery and grating so well that they could win over those who previously found them too peppy and preppy. Similarly, Modern Vampires of the Citys political allusions are also subtler than they were on Contra, where the band brandished them like college students all too willing to display their awareness of current events: Koenig sounds offhanded when he sings "though we live on the US dollar/We got our own sense of time" on "Hannah Hunt," and even the albums most overtly political song, the darkly verbose "Hudson," adopts a more historical stance as it incorporates everything from 17th century explorers, pre-war apartments, and exclusive New York neighborhoods into its meditations on fate versus free will. Of course, Vampire Weekend cant completely stifle their exuberance, and the albums louder moments stand out even more vibrantly against the subdued ones. "Diane Young"s brash, buzzy mix of doo wop, surf, and punk feels like a nod to Contra as well as Billy Joels "You May Be Right," and Koenig sings "I dont wanna live like this, but I dont wanna die" with so much joy on "Finger Back" that it celebrates life as much as it contemplates mortality. Ultimately, Modern Vampires of the City is more thoughtful than it is dark, balancing its more serious moments with a lighter touch and more confidence than theyve shown before. Even if Koenig and company fear getting old, maturity suits them well. | ||
 | Album: 6 of 8 Title: Unbelievers Released: 2014-02-28 Tracks: 4 Duration: 14:41 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Unbelievers (03:22) 2 Unbelievers (Seeburg Drum Machine mix) (03:24) 3 Step (04:21) 4 Unbelievers (live at iTunes Festival 2013) (03:34) |
 | Album: 7 of 8 Title: Spotify Sessions Released: 2014-08-26 Tracks: 5 Duration: 16:31 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Ya Hey (05:25) 2 White Sky (03:08) 3 Holiday (02:09) 4 Diane Young (02:35) 5 California English (03:14) |
 | Album: 8 of 8 Title: Father of the Bride Released: 2019-05-03 Tracks: 21 Duration: 1:06:49 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Hold You Now (02:34) 2 Harmony Hall (05:08) 3 Bambina (01:43) 4 This Life (04:29) 5 Big Blue (01:49) 6 How Long? (03:32) 7 Unbearably White (04:40) 8 Rich Man (02:30) 9 Married in a Gold Rush (03:42) 10 My Mistake (03:19) 11 Sympathy (03:47) 12 Sunflower (02:18) 13 Flower Moon (03:57) 14 2021 (01:39) 15 We Belong Together (03:11) 16 Stranger (04:09) 17 Spring Snow (02:41) 18 Jerusalem, New York, Berlin (02:55) 19 Houston Dubai (02:19) 20 I Dont Think Much About Her No More (02:49) 21 Lord Ullins Daughter (03:38) |