Modern Vampires of the City: Full Review

Modern Vampires of the City Review

9.5/10

Vampire Weekend has always came across to me as a goofy band. In their self-titled debut album, they established their sound though combining punk rock with classical and baroque instrumentations and African inspired rhythms and percussions, a combination that remind you of great bands like Talking Heads, but they do it in such a juvenile way it seems like they are the most stereotypical version of who they are: a bunch of ivy league kids who know a lot but just want to have fun and rock. Tracks like “Oxford comma” and “A punk” is surely danceable and nice to fool around with friends, but surely no subtly in emotion and theme can be found along lines like “Lil Jon/ he always tells the truth”. In their second album, “Contra”, the band transitioned into a more focused on synths and electronics, with more minor experiments in sound and timbre, which achieved good results but it wasn’t a complete evolution in the band’s identity, as if the band is completely content with their persona.

“Modern Vampires in the City”, the band’s third and latest album, however, comes off as an ambitious step forward both in sound and songwriting, and it resulted in a complete realization of their full potential. It’s a collection of near-perfect pop songs with depth and meaning, while somehow managing to infuse all of the sounds and influences that put them on the map, and miraculously, losing none of the fun.

If you are a fan of what the young, noisy dynamics of what Vampire Weekend has been doing leading up to this album, there are still excellent tracks to look for. “Unbelievers” start with flashing organs and pumping snares and steadily lifts up to a sunshine-soaked pop anthem. “Diane Young” is other punchy single takes similar instrumentation arrangements but a much more intense and fast-paced approach. Clocking at only 2:40, the track features bouncy guitars, groovy horns, as well as organs and drums that goes from simply guiding the rhythm to making bursts of blissful chaos, creating an absolute pop banger and one of the most adrenaline pumping moments of the whole album. However, as it is amazing to see Vampire Weekend perfecting their old style through adding as much elements as they can, it’s absolutely daunting to notice how well-crafted the rest of the songs are.

Vampire Weekend have always been said as sound “baroque”, if that is what you call their occasional flirt with classical arrangements. But in this new album almost screams of classical and even Babylonian influences. Keyboards play such an important part in the songs and they appear in chord cycles and riffs and creates a smooth and psychedelic effect. This approach to songwriting is basically the backbone of “Step”, which is one of the most accessible and brilliant songs on the entire album. The lucid progression of chords, along with the change in timbre of the keyboard, from piano to zither to an organ sound, and at in the last chorus, an airy keys with strong reverb, which, along with the harmonized vocals, form a mesmerizing soundscape. The pre-chorus of “Ya Hey”, a track about religion, utilizes the similar approach, delivers one of the most impressive melodies of the album and successfully bridging the darker verse section with the brighter, more grand chorus section.

The way Vampire Weekend easily alters the pace and mood in one song is also a happy surprise on “Hannah Hunt”, which starts with quite pianos and drum machines as lead singer Erza Koenig begins singing about a girl he met in San Francisco. First three verses sounds constrained and insecure as Mr. Koenig sings about his distrust and doubts about the relationship, but as the second chorus comes to an end, there was a sudden burst of bright piano melodies accompanied with distorted electronic sounds. After this beautiful and open musical run comes Erza’s third chorus, this time lifting his voice up an octave, you can just feel the raw emotion of release unleashing out of the choked, slightly distorted sound. This is a unexpected and brilliant turn that elevates the track from another love song to an experience that feels so sentimentally intense that its almost surreal.

In other songs in the album, the band continues this kind of impeccable control in genres and dynamics. Swinging from punk, indie, pop ballads, and depending on the mood of track, adding touches of classical and industrial effects. And this eclectic approach to production suit the theme of the songs. Modern Vampires of the City is sad album, it’s a lot quieter, more introspective than its predecessors, but more importantly, it’s an album about contradictions and stuck in between things. Whether its religion on “Ya Hey”, or love and relationship on “Finger back” (Cause this Orthodox girl fell in love with the guy at the falafel shop), the songs constantly shift between full devotion and doubt and uncertainty. What’s so great about this album’s theme how, despite the ambivalence and insecurity, the people of Vampire Weekend carry a tremendous amount of positivity and hopefulness in their music. Throughout the album you can always find a light zither riff, or a soprano vocal harmony. These effects makes the album feel like it is just soaked with sunlight and could still shine in the dim and blurred imagery the album cover presents.

Despite the great run in their music careers, the band approaches the world with their very identity: a bunch of intelligent young kids who sometime think they know so much, yet other times feeling the complete opposite. At the end of the album, the band repeats the ballad “You take your time/ Young Lion” under heavenly vocals, a lyric from a real-life encounter the band’s multi-instrumentalist and producer, Rostam Batmanglij, had with a random stranger. It feels like a combination of encouragement and derision, a self-pat-on-the-back if you would call it. And at that moment Vampire Weekend sound like they are fully aware of who they are and incorporating that persistent self-awareness into the vein of their music.