Father Of The Bride - Vampire Weekend: Review

Vampire Weekend

are a new York rock band fronted by Ezra Koenig who have dropped three universally acclaimed albums in their decade plus run as a group. Among the most critically acclaimed indie bands of their time 2008's Vampire Weekend, 2010's Contra and 2013's Modern Vampires Of The City are all among indie fans favorites and contenders for the title of modern classic each in their own right. In the long 6 years between 3rd and 4th studio albums the band has built up an unstoppable hype train for their return and the album has been topping many most anticipated lists since long before it had a name or release date. But now that it is finally upon us it feels like the indie world has stopped in its tracks to watch what Ezra and one of the most loved indie bands of all time will do next. 

Review By Lavender:

It is no secret that I LOVE Vampire Weekend. Their 2008 self-titled debut album was my second favorite of the year and songs like Oxford Comma, A-Punk, M79 and Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa are all among my favorites of the 2000's. The only place that I differ slightly from the masses on my opinions of the band is on 2010's Contra. The album cracked my top 25 and I came away from it positively but given the quality of the projects that flank it there is no doubt it's the weakest link It has some excellent highs like Cousins, Holiday and Giving Up The Gun but I wasn't really floored by the project as a whole. This is in stark contrast to the second album of the groups that I would consider a 10/10, 2013's Modern Vampires Of The City. A much more meditative and introspective album resulted in some of the most beautifully patient songwriting indie music has seen this decade. The album is likely to secure a spot in my top 25 of the entire decade at the end of this year and some of the bands most brilliant tunes land here. Step is a lyrical labyrinth of cultural references spread around a punchy and unforgettable percussion based instrumental. Hannah Hunt is a love song obscured in all the ways only a Vampire Weekend song can be and Diane Young is a witty and explosive piece of indie pop that called back to the bands early days with fittingly jittery but gorgeous performances from every member weaved together into one of the bands sharpest tunes. It has been a very long road for the group in the six years since Modern Vampires and going over every time we all stopped because Ezra posted a video on Instagram of him listening to a 5 second sample of a new VW song in his car, it would take far too long. But the biggest moment came in 2016 when Rostam, one half of the groups principle songwriting duo along with Ezra, announced his departure from the group. While he has been busy with a solo and collaborative project Vampire Weekend has spent the whole time in relative silence until earlier this year when they dropped a series of singles leading up to the project. Now given that we have the entire project to reflect on, the band does not disappoint even given how high expectations were. 

I'd like to have some semblance of form as we dive into these tracks so I'm gonna start off with the singles, six tracks released two at a time approximately every month and a half leading up to the albums release. The first one of these was Harmony Hall and 2021. I fell head over heels in love for Harmony Hall the first time I heard it and my bond with the song has only grown stronger. It is not only a candidate for single of the year but I could even see it making a run at my song of the year given how fantastically it stands within the tracklist of Father Of The Bride. The track is a masterclass in songwriting from Ezra Koenig that blends together his sugary sweet performance with a gorgeous acoustic composition for a quintessentially Vampire Weekend tune that is jangly and catchy, but smart and mature. This is one of the tunes on this album that I think enters the canon of best VW songs to date. By comparison 2021 is a shorter and simpler track but one that is equally effective. The song features a sweet vocal performance altered with some pretty tight vocal effects and some quirky off kilter guitar that really carries the song for its short runtime. 

The second single started out with Sunflower as its opener and the track features Steve Lacy. This one has grown on me since I first heard it and it definitely stands out in the tracklist. It features some great bouncy guitar work from Lacy and a jammy but still enjoyable hook. The formula sees Ezra and Steve swirling through catchy verses and doing a big of old school vocalizing on the hook and bridges. This turned a few people off initially but the talent of the two artists combined has won me around to the track and even though it gets a tad shaky at the end I still came away from it positively. The track that comes after this on the album also features Steve Lacy, Flower Moon and I think I like it even more. The track features a great performance from Ezra on the intro which features some tasteful autotune before jumping into an infectiously dancy rhythm. With Steve Lacy's hook coming off as a Cities Aviv style spoken word piece this is a very different track than Sunflower but one that I enjoy quite a bit. The second half of this single was Big Blue which I felt better about as a single than I do on the album. Given how many tracks are here the decency of the song seems to help it get lost in the crowd. It is a personal and compelling ballad with some great moments but it is too short to really develop in any major way and ultimately feels more like an interlude than 2021 did. 

The final singles release was This Life and Unbearably White which as a duo make up the best of the singles. This Life is another one of the best songs here with an incredibly catchy performance and some great lyrics, Ezra's vocalizing at the songs most dramatic points is fantastic. The song also has a great blend of bouncy surf rock guitars and indie woodwinds that come together to form a very indie contemporary sound for the band.  Unbearably White isn't exactly a critique of Vampire Weekend's primary listener base but it is a self-aware track with some fantastic lyrics and a perfect hook. The strings and percussion come in on a fantastic bridge that sounded great as a single and still does within the album. 

One thing I didn't anticipate before this album was released was that it would features three appearances from Danielle Haim and the results of labors are mixed. The opening song Hold You Now is probably my favorite of the collabs as the two effectively trade off verses and also successfully harmonize. Danielle holds up her end and the songwriting helps round out a pretty solid opening track. The second is Married In A Gold Rush which features some awkward at best chemistry from Ezra and Danielle but their harmonizing comes off pretty good and the instrumental is fantastic, all coming together to help make this song worthwhile within the tracklist of Father Of The Bride.  The third Haim track is truly the only song on the album that I think is completely skippable. We Belong Together is a moment Vampire Weekend fans are probably hoping to forget as the corny kids TV show grade songwriting doesn't do either artist a favor and is far more patience testing than anything else on the song is worthwhile. 

The remaining eight tracks vary from fantastic to just solid but when put all together you get the full story of a fantastic album that executes its nearly hour long runtime with sharp consistency. Bambina has a killer instrumental that takes the band back to its roots with some bouncy fantastic guitar work and a high energy drum kick that contrasts really well with a measured and beautiful vocal performance from Ezra. Sympathy is an absolute banger of a track that reminds me of some of the bands more up-tempo songs like M79 or Cousins. It has a western inspired instrumental with a snappy guitar riff and some hand clapping to carry the track. Ezra delivers some of his classic stream of consciousness poetry lyrics over the tune and it comes out as yet another one of the best tracks here that is certain to please fans of the band new and old, oh yeah and there is also a killer bassline, what more could you want. 

Speaking of great basslines How Long? has one and while the tracks hook may leave a little bit to be desired the verses are great and the blending of various instruments across the track is consistently interesting. Rich Man features one of the most lowkey instrumentals here but it serves as a palette for Ezra to be exquisitely charming. He gives his own supporting vocals and a catchy hook to tie together the song vocally, and the instrumental has some great string interpolations. My only issue with the song is that it seems to end completely abruptly out of nowhere. 

There are a handful of ballads that I did not anticipate being on the album but they consistently please. My Mistake is an incredibly meditative piece but one that stands out in a great way. Ezra is charismatic, his lyrics are sharp and his playing is on point. The extra instrumentation on the bridge and in the second half of the track wrap it up in a gorgeous bow for what is probably the prettiest track here. Spring Snow is another cute wintry ballad that features some Bon Iver-esque auto-tuned vocals on the intro that I like quite a bit. The percussion is great and the bridge isolates Ezra with just the piano and ultimately I liked this track a lot. 

Stranger is a cute love song about just how strange everything is with a great instrumental that gets better and better as the track goes on. Even though it isn't the most standout song here it does have saxophone with is seriously worth something in a Vampire Weekend album. And finally Jerusalem, New York, Berlin which sounds like a randomly generated Vampire Weekend song title, is in fact a commonplace Vampire Weekend tune. Not to say it's bad by any means as the boyish performance and soft build of instrumentation makes for a great track and ends the album off on a bright spot. 

Vampire Weekend took some serious time off but what they've come back with is an album that stands up to their reputation in absolutely every way. With consistently sharp songwriting, textured and detailed instrumentals and fantastic performances and lyrics from Ezra this is exactly the album everyone hoped for after a long absence. While not every song is flawless Father Of The Bride never comes close to feeling boring or repetitive and the Vampire Weekend sound is alive and well in 2019. Given how long it has been since we last heard from the group and how long it will probably be until we hear from them again it is hard to imagine many ways I could be happier with this albums final product. 9.5/10

Best Track: Harmony Hall

For more indie pop check out my review of King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard's Fishing For Fishes here.