Vampire Weekend // Modern Vampires of the City

New York City's Vampire Weekend released Modern Vampires of the City on 7 May via London's XL Recordings. When compared with their previous work these dozen tracks are sober and restrained. Vampire Weekend sound like they have matured, but is it for the better? Hit play on one of 2013's most eagerly anticipated releases to find out.

The most striking feature of Modern Vampires of the City musically is that Vampire Weekend's broad instrumental inventory has been revamped. Many of the familiar sounds have been demoted or even omitted. There is a shift in sound into territory which can broadly be described as nostalgic and melancholic. It is not an entirely unfamiliar sound, playing up the chamber music aspect of their sound. The calliope, pipes and tribal drums take a back seat. Harpsichord, church organ and choral backing vocals fill the void. Where the jumpy A-Punk spawned second album Contra, the courtly atmosphere of that album's Taxi Cab is evident in much of Modern Vampires of the City.

It is business as usual for Ezra Koenig whose lyrical witticisms and double meanings have been keeping Rap Geniuses busy since the album's release. Vocally, Ezra's style and delivery remain unrivalled among his indie contemporaries. His standout performance is on Diane Young, tipping his cap to Rockabilly and Elvis influences while dabbling in talk box effects. After listening a few times you begin to imagine what a cover of George Michael's Faith and/or a duet with Imelda May might sound like.

Modern Vampires of the City is notable for deep pensive lyrics and there are songs here which convey melancholy, confusion and anger - emotions not previously associated with Vampire Weekend. This added depth gives a sense of permanence about Vampire Weekend which may have been lacking even after 2011's excellent sophomore Contra.

Let's explore the idea that Vampire Weekend's music has matured, that it has become nostalgic, melancholic or even pessimistic. Not wanting to judge a book by its cover but with due reference to the album sleeve, Manhattan is shown dressed in smog, with only shadowy north-facing facades visible. This is not Vampire Weekend's work - it is that of New York Times photographer Neal Boenzi - but there is no doubting that it was chosen by the band and a contrast is evident when compared with the vivid imagery which bedecked Vampire Weekend and Contra. Like the towers on the sleeve, this album is dark and gothic. Ecclesiastical and medieval sounds are everywhere.

 

What was once considered a temporal novelty act has asserted its permanence with this record. The scenery of Ivy League campuses, Cape Cod and Nantucket Sound has been ditched. Vampire Weekend present themselves as natives of New York City - shapen by hard urban surroundings. Life is tough.

The worldbeat sound is less evident. We had come to expect tracks laden with influences from African and European folk music. Instead we hear railroad rhythms (Unbelievers) and rockabilly lyrics (Diane Young). When old world sounds come through, it is for epic effect, with pipes of the Far East driving the latter part of Unbelievers and tribal drumming on Everlasting Arms. One more thing on instrumentation: you are unlikely to have heard this much harpsichord on a pop record since The Stranglers' heyday (Step, Don't Lie). The band that earned fame offering a mish-mash of world genres has settled down, honing in on all things American with hints of European folk.

Hannah Hunt evokes the sound of Sufjan Stevens' Illinois with soft guitars, slow piano and careful storytelling. The lyrics recall the narrator's journey west with Hannah from Providence to Santa Barbara. The people they meet offer sound advice but the narrator and Hannah are care-free and Ezra repeats the key line:

"Though we live on the U.S. dollar / You and me, we got our own sense of time"

There is a brief eruption of sound towards the end of the track which fizzles out and the piano brings to a close what is arguably the best composition on the album.

Second single Ya Hey was released to coincide with the album release in early May. As the track title might suggest this is laden with lyrical reference to Jewish experience - Zion and Israelites are mentioned and fire and flames might even be considered as an oblique reference to the Holocaust. This lyrical theme carries through to Hudson whose drums sound a lot like those heard on Portishead's Machine Gun. After Hudson Modern Vampires of the City shies away via Young Lion, a minimal piano-led track lasting just 1:45. Compared with previous closers this is something of a backdoor shuffle, but that's the whole point - politely bringing the curtain down on the album without fanfare or fuss.

With this release Vampire Weekend have conquered the kingdom of NYC indie pop-rock, acceding a throne which has been hotly contested but never won since vacated by The Strokes circa 2006. Long may they reign. They have also established themselves as an act worthy of being taken seriously. This is a band which now sounds ready to record music and tour together for some time to come.

CJ09/10 One of 2013's most highly anticipated releases doesn't disappoint. NYC's indie princes graduate to kingship.
Playlist it with:
Band of Horses // Cease to Begin
Bombay Bicycle Club // A Different Kind of Fix
Foals // Total Life Forever
The Stranglers // The Collection 1977-1982
Sufjan Stevens // Illinois