Vampire Weekend
Modern Vampires of the City
Vampire Weekend’s newest release, having hit the shelves on May 13, takes the band we’ve all come to know to a new place altogether. While lead vocalist Ezra Koenig retains the youthful, bubbly melodies of his earlier work, his lyrics seem to come from a deeper, more meaningful place. Straying away from the previous patterns of seemingly meaningless words strung together (as found in Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa, with lines such as “But this feels so unnatural, Peter Gabriel too,”) Koenig demonstrates maturity in his newer work. The album’s opener, Obvious Bicycle, is packed with industrial tones and complex synthesizer arrangements, immediately alerting the listener of the band’s new direction. The song’s melancholy melodies combined with Koenig’s biting lyrics on the self-conscious and time wasting lifestyles of today’s youth embody the bittersweet sensation of growing up.
The album’s main attraction, Step, is a collection of vintage organ tones and auto-tuned vocal interludes. The ambient backing tracks of what sounds like party banter and vocal lines heavy with reverb leave you floating in a sea of melodies with layers upon layers of instruments. Again Ezra’s lyrics echo the theme of coming of age, ringing, “Wisdom’s a gift, but you’d trade it for youth, Age is an honor, it’s still not the truth.” To my surprise, Step’s auto-tuned semi-chorus is actually sampled from a Souls of Mischief song titled Step to My Girl, while a segment of Pachebel’s Canon plays in the background. This kind of innovation is what makes the album so unique; and in my opinion, fantastic.
While the high pitched whining of Ya Hey’s chorus may not be my cup of tea, I have to commend Vampire Weekend on releasing a truly original and more-than-satisfactory album. Although forty-three minutes of Ezra Koenig’s jumpy vocals could be a little too much for some listeners, it’s a great album for those who have the stamina. I would recommend Modern Vampires of the City to anyone who is a fan of Local Natives, Phoenix, or Passion Pit; and if you’re not too fond of Vampire Weekend’s older stuff, you’ve not to worry. While I refused to listen to their self-titled EP Vampire Weekend as well as 2010’s Contra after hearing only a few songs off each record, I can assure you that their newest release is worth far more than $9.99 and an hour or two of your time.
Critic’s Grade: ★★★★ (4/5)
The National
Trouble Will Find Me
In the six months preceding their latest release, I had been listening to The National’s album Boxer, as well their highly appraised High Violet in preparation for their headlining performance at Boston’s first ever music festival, Boston Calling. Despite my frequent listening, I was tragically unprepared for their newest album, Trouble Will Find Me, released to the public a little over two weeks ago. Accustomed to the easy-listening of the band’s earlier songs such as Boxer’s ‘Slow Show’ and High Violet’s ‘England’, I was, at first, unable to appreciate the album’s underlying melodies and masterfully cryptic lyrics. Finally, after multiple listens (and by multiple I mean well over ten), I gradually found myself picking up on more and more of the subtle elements that make the record so exceptional.
The first song on the album, titled ‘I Should Live in Salt’, is of especially interesting significance. The track takes its main stride with the line “I should live in salt for leaving you behind”; a lyric which may seem to be an obvious reference to the ending of a relationship. After doing my research, however, I discovered that the song is actually written about Matt Berninger’s relationship with his younger brother, Tom, and his shortcomings as an older sibling. The maturity of Berninger’s lyrics and the short, catchy melodies which accompany them are what, for me, make The Nation such an influential group. The twelfth track on the album, ‘Pink Rabbits’ , has a multitude of melancholy refrains. One moment Berninger is crooning, “I’m so surprised you want to dance with me now, I was just getting used to living without you around,” a line meaningful enough to be the chorus and backbone of the entire song; yet after only one repetition, the melody is gone. It may take a considerable number of listens to fully appreciate such fleeting moments of Trouble Will Find Me, but once you find them, you’ll never forget them. Again and again I find myself drawn to The National’s tidal wave that is their newest release, engulfed by the baritone of Berninger’s powerful vocals, accompanied by the masterfully distorted tones of Aaron and Bryce Dessner’s guitars. If you enjoy a strong, well-crafted, and slow-moving album packed full of deep bass tones and catchy, chant-like refrains, The National’s Trouble Will Find Me is for you
Critic’s Grade: ★★★★★ (5/5)