Glad you guys are loving the leak, I haven’t really been hyped about this album by the pre-release singles. “Mary Boone” sounded good but I didn’t want to overplay it.
The album sounds better than the singles because the palette and motifs are very consistent throughout.
Doing a discography play-through if anyone wants to join along. FOTB is my least favorite play through but I still love it so much. I think down the line it will be seen as a fun one-off where Ezra went wild without Rostam co-contributing as a full-time member. When Rosta left it was up in the air if the magic would be gone. IMO this album cements VW as a band that can do no wrong and will never not deliver something special. Harmony Hall - top 10 VW song for me. Sympathy to 2021 - one of my favorite pockets on a VW album. So wild and creative. Rich Man & Jerusalem, New York, Berlin - Teetring on lullaby vibes. One of my oldest friends and I were joking about Vampire Weekend being super kid-friendly because of all the wild sounds and samples. Toddler-approved car jams.
modern vampires is easily their best but father is pretty easily their second best, the first two albums sound rough and amateurish compared to those two in my opinion.
I will never forget hearing I Think Ur a Contra and thinking it was far and beyond anything else on that album (which I did like) and hoping that they would explore that sound further. Then Modern Vampires came out and literally blew my mind haha.
Contra just sounds like a band discovering themselves and expanding their sound in all kinds of cool ways. I like s/t but it’s pretty one note.
Modern Vampires Playthrough. Immaculate VW album. I know Rostam wrote on FOTB, but you can feel the change when he left. Step and Hannah Hunt are top tier Vampire weekend songs. This is probably my favorite front-to-back VW album. If someone had never heard them and asked what album to check out I would send them this one for sure. Very excited to do a playthrough on Contra and VW. It has been a very long time.
Contra Playthrough. Unbelievably strong sophomore album to cement them as big time contributors to the 00's indie boom. I am a drummer and I love how this album took the drum parts and almost made them riffy in a way. Contra is a top 10 song. So many awesome clever parts throughout this record.
on the second episode of Vampire Campfire CT said he actually didn't start playing the drums until before S/T so the riffy esque drums kind of track there! follow the groove.
Self-Titled Playthrough. I can't remember the last time I listened. The jump from album 1 to Contra is HUGE. They could have easily fallen off the face of the earth after having a hit and a very niche first record. This album is pure simple fun. Love all of the subtle punk influences all over and the ethos of the record. It was really fun to start at the most recent album and go back. Modern Vampires Contra Vampire Weekend Father Of The Bride One of the most consistent discographies of a band that came up in the 00's indie boom. Would highly recommend a play-through from most recent to their first record.
They've been giving out a lot of BNM's in the past ~two months between this, Beyonce, Waxahatchee, Mannequin Pussy, Adrianne Lenker, Hannah Frances, Empress Of, 1010benja, Kim Gordon, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Kali Malone, and Brittany Howard. It's been a pretty good two months of new music.