Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Vampire Weekend, Columbia Records/Sony Music 2019.
Father of The Bride is the latest release for New York based band Vampire Weekend and it’s an album that rewards multiple listens.
Vampire Weekend’s records have always been lyrically dense requiring the listener to have an input to fully unlock the majesty of the songs and it’s no different on this album.
In fact, they are probably asking for more commitment than usual so if your musical tastes are for light and easy then maybe this album is not for you.
The opening track, Hold You Now, is a case in point.
It opens with what appears to be a simple acoustic ballad but morphs into an amalgam of demo spliced with a children’s choir.
No attempt has been made to hide the spliced sections and some of the pitch distortion that goes with it.
As an opening track it is adventurous to say the least.
The first single, Harmony Hall, is an up-tempo pop song that sounds as though it may have been a left-over track by Paul Simon but lyrically it unfolds to be a dark song about the hatred that is crouching within the fabric of America’s institutions.
It’s this dichotomy that is typical of Father Of The Bride, and all Vampire Weekend albums.
It’s almost as though there has been a deliberate policy of hiding the true intentions of the songs beneath a veil of catchy pop.
Frontman Ezra Koenig doesn’t want to make it too easy for the listener.
Vampire Weekend’s songs tackle big issues but sometimes in an almost a throw-away way.
In This Life Koenig tackles privilege head on, including his own, acknowledging that he’s ”been cheating through his life, and all its suffering.”
Musically the album has a touch of nostalgia.
I found myself constantly comparing it with bands like Supertramp and the songs of the aforementioned Paul Simon.
It’s more gentle than energetic and more melodic than rhythmic.
It contains a similar level of intellectuality.
It’s clever musically and the lyrics convey complex thoughts often cloaked in a layer of humour.
Father Of The Bride is generous in length at 18 tracks and it’s an album you could come back to over and over again. There is much to explore.
It’s quirky, contradictory, popish and yet experimental, questioning and never resigned. It’s this dichotomy that makes it really interesting.
