Album of the Year: Vampire Weekend - Father of the Bride

Vampire Weekend's latest album, Father of the Bride is my choice for album of the year 2019. Vampire Weekend approached this album with a certain mindset, one of a new level of maturity and proficiency. In every aspect this album effortlessly draws you in. Lyrically the album doesn’t stray too far from the core ingredients of love and marriage, but that doesn’t detract from it’s messages as every song touches on a new aspect of what it means to live, love, be loved, and to lose. The opening song “Hold you Now” sets a theme that runs straight through the album. It tells the story of a pair who was previously in love but had split, who were then interacting on the wedding day of the girl, reflecting on their past love. Many songs on Father of the Bride explore love from different angles. “Married in a Gold Rush”, “We Belong Together”, and “Hold You Now” are all duets with lead singer Ezra Koenig and Danielle Haim. These duets are some of the more powerful songs on the album. By telling stories of love with alternating verses between a man and a woman, it helps the songs feel more genuine and carry more emotional weight through their dialogues. Beyond the bigger messaging from track to track, the lyrics themselves here are consistently layered and intriguing. Through its metaphors and symbolism, the writing on any given track leaves me wanting to dive further and further into the words.

Sonically, the album is beautiful, fun, and very much alive. Ezra’s vocals are dynamic, and convey a wide array of emotions. The guest vocals match his level of performance, but still, Ezra is the shining star of this album. Members have dropped out of Vampire Weekend, and Ezra has assumed the role of curator and leader, and he takes to his new role flawlessly. He appears vulnerable, but at the same time brave and confident. The instrumentation is just as great on this album. It features light and fun acoustic guitar melodies, pretty piano accompaniment, and bright percussion. This album feels very much like a Spring time album. Songs like “Flower Moon”, “Sunflower”, and “Spring Snow” evoke images of days spent with friends with a cool spring breeze in the air, or nights alone with the one you love. These tracks are all VERY easy to sing along to, and the more I listen to them, the more fun I have.

Given that this is a double album, it’s surprising that the track list is as consistently high quality as it is. With so many good songs it’s hard to narrow it down to my favorites, but there are some stand outs. Both of the songs featuring Steve Lacy, “Sunflower” and “Flower Moon” have great vocals, with the former being more quirky and amusing, and the latter being more somber and commanding. “We Belong Together” is an interesting track on the album. Father of the Bride is rife with symbolism and intricate metaphors, but “We Belong Together” stands in contrast to that. It says “Baby there’s no use in being clever, we belong together.” By dropping the similes here, it gives the message more weight in its simplicity. After the opening, the next trio of songs “Harmony Hall”, “Bambina”, and “This Life” all have some of the most fun guitar tunes I’ve heard in a long while, I can’t stress that enough. I could go on and on about the tracks on here. Every one has its own character and enjoyable aspect that makes it uniquely great.

Every listen to this album makes me appreciate it more. Thats coming from someone who has listened through dozens of times now since its release. It's universally appealing, and in my opinion ushers in a new sound for Vampire Weekend that I expect to bring them to new places. Vampire Weekend is one of the most influential indie bands of all time, so now just over a decade past the release of their first album, it’s astounding that they are reaching further and further in new directions. I implore anyone who enjoys indie pop to listen to Father of the Bride.

Originally published in the Fulcrum, December 2, 2019.