Vampire Weekend: Only God Was Above Us
Vampire Weekend has always been at the top of their game. It's not because they're unique (they both are and aren't). From production, to recording, to lyrics, to melodies, everything is nothing short of exceptional in every album to date. Faux old-money chamberpop for a 50s surfer B-movie music--it's hard enough to describe, let alone mimic. Is there another band you can think of that has released 4 incredible albums, let alone in a row? I'd argue not even Radiohead, Pink Floyd, or The Beatles can make that boast--controversial as that obviously may be.
It seems, with all this praise for the band from myself and seemingly everyone else, it would be easy to check a few boxes before diving into the meat. Is it good? Does it sound like good old Vampy Weeky? Is there enough harpsichord? If yes, give it a 10 and act like you get all the references. Done. Their previous album threw that checklist out of the boat and reminded us all that we should just trust they know where they're going. Once again, those boxes aren't so easily checked.
This is a return to form for the band, but you'd be forgiven for not hearing that initially. What obfuscates their signature sound is not even a new trick; the fuzzy distortions and echoing recordings are in full swing, lending this album a much more spacious sound than any previous work. It's not that they haven't worked in that space before, but there's a lot less organ and a lot more traditional rock sounds. There's a sense, especially when watching the music videos and admiring the artwork, that the old-money Martha's Vineyard children they once were have actually experienced some of the stuff they previously only understood as a concept lectured at them in Harvard.
In a lot of ways this means the album sounds like all the music that was being made when they first stepped onto the scene in 2008; I have to think Atlas Genius, Two Door Cinema Club, and Caesars are at least a little angry that Contra gets all the praise for eschewing the tastes of the '10s only for OGWAU to release 14 years later and be such a 2010 sound. They even make time to be a little avant garde and put Franz Ferdinand in their place.
That's selling it oh-so-very short though. Koenig and Co are praised for a reason. This is not some mopey falsetto set over default-settings guitar amps, and there is nothing so egregiously sexist presented either (although I'm as surprised as you are which band has been sued over their artwork). I cannot stress this enough: this is an educated band. They want their records to have the right sound, not the most easily repeatable on stage. There are unique textures, themes, arrangements, and motifs intertwined with simple melodies, guitar riffs, and beats. Nothing is overplayed in an effort to mask a lack of sonic breadth or clarity--and I'm including the 8 minute closer Hope in that statement. More importantly, the record isn't half as clean as any of those bands. In automotive terms, this album has a patina.
The longer you listen to the record, the more signature Vampiristic touches pop out. Pravda has Rostam's fingerprints all over it, with lovely fluttering guitar work. Ezra sings with his trademark crisp, delicate voice, never stumbling into the sad-sack self pity mode Ben Gibbard made so popular at the time. Capricorn occupies the same wintry space of Don't Lie, until it takes a very left turn. Prep-School Gangsters could have been written for their debut album. Ice Cream Piano has the energy of Cousins. Much has been made of their reuse of melodies and drumlines, although they've done similar things before, so even that's not new. Looking through their previous albums is now like looking at a new band for me--the spaciousness has always been there, but used as spice rather than meat. It's now more surprising than ever that Giving Up the Gun and Holiday were released on the same record.
The album isn't without flaws in my opinion. The Surfer is DOA, and a baffling retread of My Mistake, already the band's worst song. I think I'd rather listen to Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa over Prep School Gangsters. Capricorn just doesn't have the punchily presented lines of Step. And, if I'm being picky, I think overall I preferred the interplay of lyrics on FOTC better; they may have been on the sappy side, but they flowed and popped more pleasingly. I venture to guess that is intentional here, though, as the record is meant to be disheveled.
Those flaws end up emphasizing why this album is so well made, though. The band has always been this good, and they took an opportunity to write an audio essay proving that point. This means that OGWAU plays akin to a greatest hits album, aiming for the biggest sounds they have made for much of its playtime. Few moments throughout are given the space to be quiet here; slower songs like Capricorn and Pravda are still given quite a bit of noise. Mary Boone warbles between Hannah Hunt and Harmony Hall energy. This approach made the album very impenetrable initially for me, as it sounds like their old selves, but it almost entirely leaves their signature quaintness at the door in favor of everything else they've painted that quaintness in.
Some of my most favorite records ever are like this, though. I think of Grizzly Bear's Vekatimest having only one real radioworthy song (and CRUSHING it), or Kid A entirely dropping out of grunge. Vampire Weekend, like these peers, has entered a new era of confidence in their abilities, and the result is similar: this is an album that doesn't want to appease people as much as it wants to be historic. You can hear that confidence in Connect as wrong notes are smashed like a stubbed toe. You can see the bigger picture behind Gen-X Cops find common ground in generational shortcoming. You can resonate with their acceptance of the destructive force of time as a song grinds to a halt. And you can feel the pain they do as they appeal to forgiveness of bygones for 8 minutes.
This classical, I think, will remain.
9/10, Vinylworthy
