Album Review: Vampire Weekend Cap Trilogy In Dynamic Fashion With “Modern Vampires of the City”

By: Calum Slingerland –

Vampire Weekend’s musical charm and wonderfully clever lyrics have made the band favourites among indie music listeners since their 2008 self-titled debut album. A strong rhythm section coupled with incredibly catchy guitar and synth hooks brought the band success on their aforementioned self-titled record, and their sophomore release, Contra. The sonic evolution of a band is always something incredible to behold, and for Vampire Weekend, it is noticeable on their latest effort, Modern Vampires of the City. The band have successfully executed a number of new musical ideas resulting in a record that is at times both somber, energetic, and includes exploration of some new territory for the boys from New York City.

From the start, the afrobeat influence of past Vampire Weekend album openers such as “Mansard Roof” and “Horchata” has been seemingly cast aside, in favour of the subtle stateliness of “Obvious Bicycle”. The opening track of Modern Vampires… is quite tame and unhurried – a style and feeling woven deep within a number of other tracks on the record. With pitch-shifted harpsichords characterizing “Step”, it sways along to a steady quarter note beat, while the delicate “Hannah Hunt” showcases more of frontman Ezra Koenig’s poetic lyricism [Though we live on the U.S. dollar/You and me, we got our own sense of time]. The song is quite minimal in nature, with both Koenig and multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij singing choruses in harmony, opting for a loud section at the end featuring piano, organ, and slide guitar. “Hudson” is a melancholic march-style tune discussing the voyage of Henry Hudson in 1611, which the band attributes to being influenced by Leonard Cohen.

While many of the album’s slower tracks contain its beautiful moments, Vampire Weekend hasn’t lost their knack for creating up-tempo music. “Diane Young” is perhaps their most explosive song to date, channeling old school rock and roll amid a crashing rhythm section and chopped up drum and vocal samples. Tracks such as “Unbelievers” and “Worship You” once again see the band swap out the afro-beat for what could be considered more of a western gallop feel. Thoughtthe subtraction of such a vital element to the band’s sound may seem like a bad idea to some, it works marvelously, with the rhythm section of drummer Chris Tomson and bass guitarist Chris Baio effortlessly directing the charge. A track such as “Finger Back” seems repetitive at times, but harkens back to the band we knew on the first two records.

Though it it’s different from its predecessors, the variety of dynamics, feelings, and slight shift away from previously explored sounds that Modern Vampires… offers is a recipe for success. In this instance, change is very, very good.

Essential Tracks: “Diane Young”, “Obvious Bicycle” and “Hannah Hunt”.