VAMPIRE WEEKEND – Modern Vampires of the City
01. Obvious Bicycle
02. Unbelievers
03. Step
04. Diane Young
05. Don’t Lie
06. Hannah Hunt
07. Everlasting Arms
08. Finger Back
09. Worship You
10. Ya Hey
11. Hudson
12. Young Lion
VAMPIRE WEEKEND took their time to record their third album Modern Vampires of The City, the end of a trilogy. Three years have passed by since the release of their second album Contra. It’s not condemnable to take the time you need, but in this case it was probably too long. Most of the songs on Modern Vampires Of The City seem insincere. They’ve all got hit potential but together they are exaggerated. This isn’t that obviously – when you start listening to Modern Vampires Of The City it appears quite innocent and elaborated. The opener, Obvious Bicycle, is an unblameable song that features Ezra Koenigs clear voice and a harmonious piano part. But you begin to halt when Step runs. The lyrics are so unusual: “And punks who would laugh when they saw us together/ well, they didn’t know how to dress for the weather”. And then the computer voice at the end of the track. What’s that supposed to mean? Not to forget, Modern Vampires Of The City‘s first single Diane Young, sung by Koenig sounding like “dying young”. The piece represents the album’s weakness: during listening to it the first time it seems to be characterful and danceable. But when you hear it the third time it’s just annoying, at least to me. So better take care!
And then there are these lyrics that don’t seem to make any sense. A fatal chandelier (Everlasting Arms), a girl who falls in love with a shop (Henry Hudson) and Hannah Hunt who rips a newspaper at the beach. As already mentioned, it’s hard to take the album seriously.
Besides VAMPIRE WEEKEND didn’t want to sound as any of their older stuff. “Whenever we came up with something familiar sounding, it was rejected”, said the American producer Ariel Rechtshaid (known for HAIM and JUSTIN BIEBER) who worked with the band on the new album about it in an interview with the Electronic Musician. Maybe that’s a problem as well. Using an analog tape machine and pitch shifting ,an ideal record emerged. But where is the imperfectness? Where is the craggy indie sound? The specialness? Apparently VAMPIRE WEEKEND lost these things over the years. And that really is a shame. Nothing should be too perfect. But actually you can’t blame the band for that, because – as every band – VAMPIRE WEEKEND try to reach as many people as possible. And they’ll do that with Modern Vampires Of The City. Every song could become a radio hit since they are all just perfect.