Vampire Weekend - Father of the Bride (Deluxe) (2020) [Hi-Res]

In a little more than a decade, Vampire Weekend has taken it slow. After the eponymous Vampire Weekend (2008), Contra (2010) and Modern Vampires of the City (2013), Ezra Koenig’s band took a six-year break punctuated by the departure of the very influential Rostam Batmanglij who released an excellent solo record Half-Light in 2017. Their last album to date, Modern Vampires of the City, was a distinctive evolution in the works of the New York combo. The Talking Heads influence had been abandoned for a more refined and polished pop sound, found as much in the melodies and harmonies as in its style.


Koenig, now the main creative force left in the group, has left New York and relocated to LA. Father of the Bride confirms his artistic ambition. His central style remains inherently pop, but each of the 18 songs in the album offer a different outlook. There is a bit of everything in this copious record; The Beatles, Beach Boys, Fleetwood Mac, Supertramp, Paul Simon, Wilco, Grateful Dead and hundreds of other influences can be noted. The collaborators on the album are equally diverse: the pedal steel and impressionist guitars of Greg Leisz, the voice of Danielle Haim of HAIM, the guitar of Dave Longstreth of the Dirty Projectors, Steve Lacy of the Internet and even Rostam enters the fold on two titles. While listening to the record, one might ask themselves if Ezra Koenig has made a White Album (the most eclectic album by the Beatles) all by himself… © Marc Zisman/Qobuz