Author Topic: The new Vampire Weekend is pretty good! (Read 3924 times)

GilloD · « **on:** January 04, 2010, 06:22:51 AM »

Shamelessly aping the Paul Simon this time around ('White Sky' is practically a cover of 'Diamonds in the Soles of Her Shoes' fer chrissakes), but to excellent effect. It's a fine sophmore effort- More of what we liked, less of what we didn't. It's also a little weirder, whic.h is nice. 'Cousins' does a nice job of channeling XTC. I really liked the first record, it was an incredibly tight package of white boy AfroPop. This is pretty much everything the first one was, just weirder and more adventurous.

A-! But really, 'White Sky' is the broadest theft of Paul Simon maybe ever. To great effect, but it's freakishly similar to Diamonds...

GilloD · « **Reply #1 on:** January 04, 2010, 06:25:51 AM »

Also, best use fo auto-tune since T Pain convinced us Chris Brown was worth listening to.

Olivia Wilde Homo · « **Reply #2 on:** January 04, 2010, 07:17:00 AM »

Leper this filth

Eric P · « **Reply #3 on:** January 04, 2010, 08:18:57 AM »

love the first vampire weekend but haven't even bothered to listen to the second one after Horchata was released.

GilloD · « **Reply #4 on:** January 04, 2010, 08:24:14 AM »

Quote from: Eric P on January 04, 2010, 08:18:57 AM

love the first vampire weekend but haven't even bothered to listen to the second one after Horchata was released.

You didn't like Horchata? You may like the rest of the record. I really loved Horchata

ch1nchilla · « **Reply #5 on:** January 04, 2010, 08:45:41 AM »

Horchata is miserable and it reminds me of a commercial jingle, but I like the rest of their newer singles well enough so I'll definitely give the album a spin.

GilloD · « **Reply #6 on:** January 04, 2010, 09:22:53 AM »

Quote from: ch1nchilla on January 04, 2010, 08:45:41 AM

Horchata is miserable and it reminds me of a commercial jingle, but I like the rest of their newer singles well enough so I'll definitely give the album a spin.

Horchata is the 2nd weakest song. There's one called 'Giving Up the Gun' that sound like a Savage Garden b-side. It's awful. But everything else is really lovely. There's enough going on here that even if you hate one track, the next sounds nothing like it. There are some really nice, quiet baroque pop moments (Taxi Cab, I think U r a Contra), some really obscure British-pop (Think Madness, not Oasis) moments (Cousins), some expansive world-pop gestures (Run). California English is great- An auto-tuned slice of AfroPop that really hits all the right notes, it's the perfect Sophomore album song.

Generally everything here just feel tighter and more adventurous, it's a better realized album than Vampire Weekend. Which is good and bad. Part of VW's charm was it's out-of-nowhere appeal, I wonder how this one will hit knowing that folks are expecting it.

Large chunks of this record are really, really melody-driven. They sound like they took a huge cue from that Discovery album I WORSHIPPED and no one else did.

GilloD · « **Reply #7 on:** January 04, 2010, 09:25:49 AM »

It's also substantially less guitar driven. The drummer got a promotion, which is great because there are some really great percussive moments in here, too.

TakingBackSunday · « **Reply #8 on:** January 04, 2010, 09:44:21 AM »

I'm with Eric P–every single I've heard from the album (Cousins, White Sky, Horchata) simply bores me and I'm finding no real inkling to get hyped for the new record. And yes, I did love the first one.

TakingBackSunday · « **Reply #9 on:** January 04, 2010, 09:55:17 AM »

I'll also chime in and say that I thoroughly enjoyed that Discovery album, too.

Eric P · « **Reply #10 on:** January 04, 2010, 10:01:11 AM »

i don't really have a problem with afropop for white folks (quelle surprise considering my known hatred of major lazer and my dismissive labeling of it as "dance hall 101"), but Horchata was just too... twee, i guess.

GilloD · « **Reply #11 on:** January 04, 2010, 10:08:48 AM »

Quote from: Eric P on January 04, 2010, 10:01:11 AM

i don't really have a problem with afropop for white folks (quelle surprise considering my known hatred of major lazer and my dismissive labeling of it as "dance hall 101"), but Horchata was just too... twee, i guess.

I abhor Major Lazer. I liked Horchata's sense of ambition if nothing else.

Now I'm going to say two contradictory things: If you did not liek any of the 3 singles, you will probably not find anything else here to like. DId you really hate those singles? I could see not getting Horchata, but Cousins was great! White Sky is a shameless, shameless Paul Simon theft-fest, but it's a GOOD Paul Simon theft-fest. WHen was the last time we got a band who could ape that sound so well?

That said, the entire spirit of this album feels somehow informed by that Discovery album. It's just spacier, sweeter, more lovable? I don't know. I didn't LOVELOVE the first album, I guess I'm finding more of what I wanted in here.

Or maybe I'm still in love with the time I saw THE VERY BEST (The greatest show I have ever gone to, by the way) and Ezra showed up and did a very good job of being a white boy busting out AfroPop with an actual African on stage.

TakingBackSunday · « **Reply #12 on:** January 04, 2010, 10:10:28 AM »

Yes, I agree with that 100% Eric P. To be honest I've been a little saturated by the latest craze of afropop in music these last two years. I loved Return to the Sea by Islands, really enjoyed the first Vampire Weekend record, and thought the latest Very Best release was awesome, but I just feel like it's everywhere now. At least with Islands, Nick Thorburn is all self aware about it (especially with Vapours, which doesn't even really sound like anything he's done in the past)

edit: yes, the Very Best rocks. awesome album

Eric P · « **Reply #13 on:** January 04, 2010, 10:12:40 AM »

TBH, i have only heard Horchata. I figured I'd wait for the full album before listening to anything else from them.

GilloD · « **Reply #14 on:** January 04, 2010, 10:13:56 AM »

Quote from: BrandNew on January 04, 2010, 10:10:28 AM

Yes, I agree with that 100% Eric P. To be honest I've been a little saturated by the latest craze of afropop in music these last two years. I loved Return to the Sea by Islands, really enjoyed the first Vampire Weekend record, and thought the latest Very Best release was awesome, but I just feel like it's everywhere now. At least with Islands, Nick Thorburn is all self aware about it (especially with Vapours, which doesn't even really sound like anything he's done in the past)

edit: yes, the Very Best rocks. awesome album

I saw Islands at this party catered by some Top Chef guy and they ran out of free beer and Islands played like 3 songs and then the singer walked off stage, came back on stage, hit the guitarist, left the stage and then they were like PARTY IS OVER. Fucking sucked.

TakingBackSunday · « **Reply #15 on:** January 04, 2010, 10:14:26 AM »

if you have free time:
http://www.myspace.com/vampireweekend

just finished it. It's okay, but I definitely liked the first more.

I should clarify that Cousins has grown on me, I like it a lot now.

TakingBackSunday · « **Reply #16 on:** January 04, 2010, 10:15:50 AM »

Quote from: GilloD on January 04, 2010, 10:13:56 AM

Quote from: BrandNew on January 04, 2010, 10:10:28 AM
Yes, I agree with that 100% Eric P. To be honest I've been a little saturated by the latest craze of afropop in music these last two years. I loved Return to the Sea by Islands, really enjoyed the first Vampire Weekend record, and thought the latest Very Best release was awesome, but I just feel like it's everywhere now. At least with Islands, Nick Thorburn is all self aware about it (especially with Vapours, which doesn't even really sound like anything he's done in the past)

edit: yes, the Very Best rocks. awesome album

I saw Islands at this party catered by some Top Chef guy and they ran out of free beer and Islands played like 3 songs and then the singer walked off stage, came back on stage, hit the guitarist, left the stage and then they were like PARTY IS OVER. Fucking sucked.

Sounds like Islands. They are notorious for bipolar performances. Was this just recently or a few years ago? The new 4-piece band is apparently a lot more relaxed and fun. My buddies saw them in Columbus last year and said they were fucking great.

GilloD · « **Reply #17 on:** January 04, 2010, 10:19:16 AM »

Quote from: BrandNew on January 04, 2010, 10:14:26 AM

if you have free time:
http://www.myspace.com/vampireweekend

just finished it. It's okay, but I definitely liked the first more.

I should clarify that Cousins has grown on me, I like it a lot now.

The leaked version is just a MySpace rip.

Anyway!: It was like. Jeez, almost a year and a half ago.

Robo · « **Reply #18 on:** January 04, 2010, 10:26:56 AM »

I listened through it once, but the sound quality of the Myspace tracks are so bad that it's effecting my overall opinion, so I'm gonna wait a couple more days.

Eric P · « **Reply #19 on:** January 04, 2010, 10:27:20 AM »

yeah. 64kbps is horrible

TakingBackSunday · « **Reply #20 on:** January 04, 2010, 10:43:52 AM »

Is it seriously 64? Jesus

Gillo: Yeah a year and a half ago was a bad time to see Islands, they were pretty shit around then. Nick got all angry and kicked out like all of his band members and formed a new band, yet kept its name Islands. Vapours is my second favorite album of the year, and I think it's certainly one of the most underrated albums from last year.

Eric P · « **Reply #21 on:** January 04, 2010, 10:48:32 AM »

yeah i had a few tracks up from some previous projects just fucking around and in the eula it specifies your quality rate.

i was like "whatever" because it was free hosting when no where else really had that

Tauntaun · « **Reply #22 on:** January 04, 2010, 10:48:38 AM »

Paul Simon is awesome.

[youtube=560,345]AE3kKUEY5WU[/youtube]

TakingBackSunday · « **Reply #23 on:** January 04, 2010, 10:54:08 AM »

at least post a paul simon song relevant to the genre at hand!
[youtube=560,345]OafqYNCzq5U[/youtube]

god, best album of the 80s

Tauntaun · « **Reply #24 on:** January 04, 2010, 11:01:51 AM »

That's an awesome concert.

Howard Alan Treesong · « **Reply #25 on:** January 04, 2010, 12:29:19 PM »

Graceland is one of my favorite albums of all time ... god damn

fistfulofmetal · « **Reply #26 on:** January 04, 2010, 12:30:41 PM »

the chick on the cover is pretty hot

Phoenix Dark · « **Reply #27 on:** January 04, 2010, 02:15:50 PM »

heard there was 8-bit stuff on the album

listened to album

turned it off after 3 minutes

Eric P · « **Reply #28 on:** January 04, 2010, 03:00:30 PM »

are you into 8bit music now?

Phoenix Dark · « **Reply #29 on:** January 04, 2010, 03:08:20 PM »

It's always appealed to me, can't say I've heavily looked into it recently. I've heard a couple Vampire Weekend songs and they didn't appeal to me, but the 8-bit news definitely peaked my interests

Eric P · « **Reply #30 on:** January 04, 2010, 03:10:38 PM »

ah ok.

Robo · « **Reply #31 on:** January 04, 2010, 03:23:05 PM »

Quote from: Phoenix Dark on January 04, 2010, 03:08:20 PM

It's always appealed to me, can't say I've heavily looked into it recently. I've heard a couple Vampire Weekend songs and they didn't appeal to me, but the 8-bit news definitely peaked my interests

Contra has a few bleeps and bloops from what I can make out of the murkiness, but whoever spoke of "8-bit" might've been referring to Batmanglij's collab project, Discovery.

Phoenix Dark · « **Reply #32 on:** January 04, 2010, 03:24:39 PM »

it was omg rite on GAF

Robo · « **Reply #33 on:** January 04, 2010, 03:26:03 PM »

Eric P · « **Reply #34 on:** January 04, 2010, 03:35:05 PM »

i think we're done here

Powerslave · « **Reply #35 on:** January 04, 2010, 03:37:04 PM »

sometimes you know a band sucks just by looking at their name

Eric P · « **Reply #36 on:** January 04, 2010, 03:54:39 PM »

oh god yeah like Helloween

Tauntaun · « **Reply #37 on:** January 04, 2010, 04:03:07 PM »

Quote from: Eric P on January 04, 2010, 03:54:39 PM

oh god yeah like Helloween

Powerslave · « **Reply #38 on:** January 04, 2010, 04:06:50 PM »

or metallica

TakingBackSunday · « **Reply #39 on:** January 04, 2010, 04:12:45 PM »

or the beatles

Powerslave · « **Reply #40 on:** January 04, 2010, 04:14:25 PM »

and muse

Eric P · « **Reply #41 on:** January 04, 2010, 04:16:45 PM »

or any black metal band name taken from something to do with Tolkein

GilloD · « **Reply #42 on:** January 04, 2010, 05:42:03 PM »

Quote from: Phoenix Dark on January 04, 2010, 03:08:20 PM

It's always appealed to me, can't say I've heavily looked into it recently. I've heard a couple Vampire Weekend songs and they didn't appeal to me, but the 8-bit news definitely peaked my interests

You'd really, really, really like Ananmanaguchi.

GilloD · « **Reply #43 on:** January 04, 2010, 05:43:58 PM »

Also, next day ruminations: THere are no songs on Contra that are roomy. Nothing like Mansard Roof or A Punk, songs which have decidedly few moving parts. Everything is big and tight, but maybe charmless?

TakingBackSunday · « **Reply #44 on:** January 04, 2010, 05:50:02 PM »

I'd say that's a pretty fair statement. Nothing moves real well in this album, I feel. Cousins is good, and I like that California song, but nothing hooks me like Mansard Roof, Oxford Comma, A Punk, Campus, or Walcott did to me.

Robo · « **Reply #45 on:** January 04, 2010, 06:28:00 PM »

Now streaming at NPR.org, but I'm not sure if the quality is any better: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122213523

Robo · « **Reply #46 on:** January 04, 2010, 10:36:27 PM »

Retail rip is out thurr too

TakingBackSunday · « **Reply #47 on:** January 04, 2010, 10:39:36 PM »

Listened to this three times and I'm still meh on it

Robo · « **Reply #48 on:** January 04, 2010, 10:47:44 PM »

I'm finding this to be much more tolerable, enjoyable even, now that it doesn't sound like my ears are stuffed with dicks.

TakingBackSunday · « **Reply #49 on:** January 04, 2010, 10:49:16 PM »

you don't like that sensation?

Robo · « **Reply #50 on:** January 04, 2010, 10:57:59 PM »

Oh, I like a nice bell-end ringing in my head every once in awhile.

Robo · « **Reply #51 on:** January 05, 2010, 12:07:52 PM »

Nevermind, this album is shit. I think Green Man would love "Give Up the Gun". SMH at that track.

Eric P · « **Reply #52 on:** January 05, 2010, 12:13:42 PM »

Quote from: RoboJ on January 04, 2010, 10:57:59 PM

Oh, I like a nice bell-end ringing in my head every once in awhile.

"what does that sound like?"

"ding-dong"

Flannel Boy · « **Reply #53 on:** January 05, 2010, 01:28:05 PM »

Quote from: Eric P on January 05, 2010, 12:13:42 PM

Quote from: RoboJ on January 04, 2010, 10:57:59 PM
Oh, I like a nice bell-end ringing in my head every once in awhile.

"what does that sound like?"

"ding-dong"

TakingBackSunday · « **Reply #54 on:** January 05, 2010, 01:39:41 PM »

Yeah album isn't very good. They're coming to Nashville in April though and I know for a fact that they're a great live show. So there.

Eric P · « **Reply #55 on:** January 05, 2010, 01:58:17 PM »

Quote from: BrandNew on January 05, 2010, 01:39:41 PM

They're coming to Nashville in April though and I know for a fact that they're a great live show. So there.

i heard they stand there and play instruments and the songs are just like the album, except with out the production added bits like strings and such, which sounds to me like it would be a fuck awful mess to actually attend

Robo · « **Reply #56 on:** January 05, 2010, 02:05:56 PM »

By the time I saw them last year, they were filling in those gaps with electronics and samples.

Eric P · « **Reply #57 on:** January 05, 2010, 02:30:23 PM »

ok that's a bit more comforting to hear

TakingBackSunday · « **Reply #58 on:** January 05, 2010, 02:46:22 PM »

I've watched videos of their live shows and they sound fine.

Powerslave · « **Reply #59 on:** January 05, 2010, 03:28:52 PM »

HEY GUYS OUR BAND IS CALLED VAMPIRE WEEKEND BECAUSE HAVING WEIRD NAMES IS SO EDGY AND WE DONT CARE

News:

Author Topic: The new Vampire Weekend is pretty good! (Read 3924 times)