Rating 9/10
This past Friday — the same day an earthquake shook New York City — indie rock band Vampire Weekend released their fifth studio album “Only God Was Above Us.” Although most will argue these two separate events aren’t related, this natural phenomenon is a valid reaction from the city that witnessed the band’s birth and rise.
Vampire Weekend, led by main vocalist Ezra Koenig, originated at Columbia University, an institution often referenced in their music. Part of their aesthetic, this album is no exception as “Only God Was Above Us” is indistinguishably their style.
The album was released five years after 2019’s Grammy-nominated “Father of the Bride,” an indie pop record with a little country on the side. The long gap between releases is not unusual for the band, given the six-year difference between their sophomore record “Modern Vampires of the City” and “Father of the Bride.”
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In an ever-changing world, it’s nice to see that some bands can preserve their classical sound without turning redundant or stale. The harpsichord, organ and strings are present in all their grandeur. This is Vampire Weekend after all, who sampled a Melanisan choir song for their 2019 track “Hold You Know.”
Composed of 10 songs, this record is concise and entertaining, flowing from song to song.
“After (Father of the Bride, a double album) I don’t want to make a triple album, I want to make a ten-song, focused album,” Koenig said in an Apple Music interview with Zane Lowe.
“Only God Was Above Us,” has a particular history. Avid fans might notice it is the first album without the standard Vampire Weekend logo on the front cover. The cover is an unedited picture of a messed up subway car by photographer Steven Siegel from his 1988 series “Subway Dreams.” The title comes from the Daily News headline seen in the picture, Koenig explained in an NPR interview.
The aesthetic of gritty, 80s New York City is present throughout the album. Opening with “Ice Cream Piano,” a play on the song’s lyrics “In dreams, I scream piano,” listeners are treated to a track in ultimate Vampire Weekend style, complete with an outro featuring majestic strings.
Other musical highlights are the three singles part of the album’s promotion. “Classical” lives up to its name, producing an upbeat tune and playing with piano and wind instruments.
“Capricorn,” currently the most streamed song of the album on Spotify, is reminiscent of the band’s earlier work, particularly in the style of “Modern Vampires of the City.” Lyrics such as “Sifting through centuries/For moments of your own” and “I know you’re tired of tryin’/Listen clearly, you don’t have to try” reinvigorate the band’s mythos.
On this track, there are self-references to their previous music, like the lyrics “Too old for dying young” a callback to their 2013 song “Diane Young.”
In “Connect,” their sound is at their best. The band samples the drums of their own song “Mansard Roof” from their debut album, coupled with a piano that feels like going mad in a good way.
Another song, “Prep-School Gangsters,” feels like a “vault track” of their debut, complete with references to academia and privileged society. In a more rock genre, “Gen-X Cops” conveys the roughness of the album cover, with lyrics like “Each generation makes its own apology.”
One of the last tracks of the record, “Mary Boone,” is a reference to a New York City art dealer, who was part of the central figure of the city’s 80s grungy scene, and recently was released from prison after a tax evasion conviction. All in all, the record appears as another ode to the Big Apple.
In the end, at almost an hour long, “Only God Was Above Us” pays respect to its title with an ethereal and classical sound, which only shines brighter thanks to its iconic production, bringing back what made Vampire Weekend stand out in the first place.
