Vampire Weekend Confirmed

[Hugh Jass]

Only had one quick listen so far, but it didn’t grab me on the first go.

Contra remains unchallenged for me.

[Havors]

14 minutes ago, Hugh Jass said:

Only had one quick listen so far, but it didn’t grab me on the first go.

Contra remains unchallenged for me.

Agreed.... im torn between Contra and Modern Vampires though. 

[Diamond24]

I'm not entirely sold on the album. I like the singles and a couple on top of that, but seems like there's a lot of filler. Will give it a few more listens though. 

[calamitymaud]

For me it's a 7/10 album, with some 9/10 tracks. Disappointing to not be as good as the other albums after the wait, but it's not bad by any stretch.

They're always good value live and they'll play the hits.

[Johndenis]

On ‎5‎/‎5‎/‎2019 at 2:20 PM, OddRon said:

Pretty good album, feels like a lot of the shorter tracks could be cut, don't really care for the songs with one of the Haim sisters but songs like How long, Sympathy, Unbearably White, This Life, Harmony Hall and Sunflower make up for it

I'd give it a 7/10, probably higher if the shorter singles were cut like 2021, flower moon and big blue 

Looking forward to hearing new stuff live, which I can't usually say for most bands I like so go Ezra and the gang

It's overall pretty great.  I don't mind if they wanted to just put out loads of songs.  Melodies pour out of the guy.  The songs with the lady from Haim do however sound bizarrely like The Beautiful South at their MOR worst.

[priest17]

I was pretty underwhelmed at first listen, but I've had it on in the background the last few days and when I've been walking to the shops and the like. There's plenty to like in all the filler tracks and its proving to be something I'm listening to fairly regularly. Probably was a little ambitious going for an hour long album with that they had though and it doesn't beat their best album (Modern Vampires)

[dccool]

Had a couple of listens and now and although I do love the singles it's way to cluttered and has got half an album's worth of filler songs that dont seem to have much reason for being on the album.

Saying that still looking forward to seeing them.

[FloorFiller]

Hold You Now
Harmony Hall
Bambina
This Life
Unbearably White
Rich Man
Married in a Gold Rush
Sympathy
Sunflower
Flower Moon
Stranger
Jerusalem, New York, Berlin

Would've been a pretty sick album to be fair. I'm sure others disagree on my omitted/included songs but there's definitely a great album hidden away in here - shame they felt the need to fall in to the for the ever dreaded double album trap. Also don't hate many of the songs with Haim lady sharing lead vocals (apart from maybe We Belong Together...) but I couldn't say any of them are my favourites - Hold You Now just makes a good intro to Harmony Hall there. Her constant presence just over Ezra's shoulder becomes a little grating. 

[Losing my hair]

6 minutes ago, FloorFiller said:

Hold You Now
Harmony Hall
Bambina
This Life
Unbearably White
Rich Man
Married in a Gold Rush
Sympathy
Sunflower
Flower Moon
Stranger
Jerusalem, New York, Berlin

Would've been a pretty sick album to be fair. I'm sure others disagree on my omitted/included songs but there's definitely a great album hidden away in here - shame they felt the need to fall in to the for the ever dreaded double album trap. Also don't hate many of the songs with Haim lady sharing lead vocals (apart from maybe We Belong Together...) but I couldn't say any of them are my favourites - Hold You Now just makes a good intro to Harmony Hall there. Her constant presence just over Ezra's shoulder becomes a little grating. 

Agree about We Belong Together - don't understand why it's been released as a single.

I like the 2 short tracks - Big Blue and 2021, or at least I would have if 2 interesting ideas had been developed in to something substantial. 

[Mardy]

I really think this is a superb album, and i’m not going to knock ‘em for a bit of ambition, for a host of ideas and a spirit of experimentation. Fair fucking play for an album that isn’t just a poor photocopy of previous ideas. Worth a million tedious indie-lad dullards.

[DarthSaul]

Even though it's a 'double album' it still only clocks in at 58 minutes and a standard album is say 45-48? Personally wouldn't cut any tracks and the first 8 make for a cracking run! (and I've found are the perfect amount to get me home on my commute)

[Tartan_Glasto]

Do we think Haim could make a surprise appearance with them? Maybe even pop up for a wee set somewhere?

[uscore]

My favourite Vampire Weekend thing is that when they were announced for Glastonbury I said "Oh cool, I hope they play A-Punk 3 times in a row".  And someone replied to me and said "They did that at Coachella" as if I wouldn't have known and had just randomly and independently come up with the idea myself.

[Havors]

I like it over all its good. Im a little disappointed in it as well though.

There are a few short tracks like Bambina and 2021 which if they were full songs but would have been amazing.... and then it feels like that woman is on every track even though she really isnt.  

If feels like its unfinished and he couldn't decide what to put on the album. 

Unfortunately its the worst of all the albums. 

 

[priest17]

It continues to impress me, moved from a 7 to an 8 over the last day or 2. Overtaken album uno for me as well. I hated the Haim ones at first as well and now I love them now, Married In A Gold Rush is up there with my favourites.

[Mardy]

Knocking it out the park at the Big Weekend yesterday. More on the Iplayer, but this is sublime. Freer and more of a jam than the album. I’m full of anticipation for their set.

 

 

[sisco]

5 minutes ago, Mardy said:

Knocking it out the park at the Big Weekend yesterday. More on the Iplayer, but this is sublime. Freer and more of a jam than the album. I’m full of anticipation for their set.

 

 

Fully agree, thought they were brilliant. 

Headline other or Pyramid sub I'd presume. 

[bennyhana22]

2 hours ago, Mardy said:

Knocking it out the park at the Big Weekend yesterday. More on the Iplayer, but this is sublime. Freer and more of a jam than the album. I’m full of anticipation for their set.

 

 

That is fab, Mardy, and only increases my excitement to see VW again, but...

The piano in Harmony Hall is the secret to that song's brilliance and, unfortunately, the band are not in tune with it! The guitars, quite normally, are tuning to digital tuners but, obviously, the piano is not tunable during the performance (it would take an hour!) and is not perfectly at the same frequency as the digital tuners. That means that when the beautiful piano chords chop in at the end of the verse it really grates if you (sorry!) have a musical ear!

I might tweet the band to tell them! I SOOOOO don't want that to be the case at Glastonbury!

Eek!

Ben

Edited May 26, 2019 by bennyhana22

[FloorFiller]

Yeah they sounded great at Big Weekend. Can’t see them anywhere other than post-Kylie myself which will suit me just fine as I’ll already be there and ramped up from the 2.5+ hour pop fest that has just graced the Pyramid stage. The Sunday this year (largely on the Pyramid it seems) is looking ace if everything falls in to place. 

[found home in 2009]

34 minutes ago, bennyhana22 said:

That is fab, Mardy, and only increases my excitement to see VW again, but...

The piano in Harmony Hall is the secret to that songs brilliance and, unfortunately, the band are not in tune with it! The guitars, quite normally, are tuning to digital tuners but, obviously, the piano is not tunable during the performance (it would take an hour!) and is not perfectly at the same frequency as the digital tuners. That means that when the beautiful piano chords chop in at the end of the verse it really grates if you (sorry!) have a musical ear!

I might tweet the band to tell them! I SOOOOO don't want that to be the case at Glastonbury!

Eek!

Ben

Completely agree. Piano sounds flat to me. Your right that it would be a big job to tune the piano, but it would take 2 seconds to retune the guitars to the piano 

[Mardy]

I'm kind of in awe of people who can hear that. Some proper X-Men shit going on there. Witchcraft. Suspect you should all be burnt in some Wicker Man style sacrifice on the Wednesday evening as part of the firework display

[bennyhana22]

1 hour ago, bennyhana22 said:

That is fab, Mardy, and only increases my excitement to see VW again, but...

The piano in Harmony Hall is the secret to that songs brilliance and, unfortunately, the band are not in tune with it! The guitars, quite normally, are tuning to digital tuners but, obviously, the piano is not tunable during the performance (it would take an hour!) and is not perfectly at the same frequency as the digital tuners. That means that when the beautiful piano chords chop in at the end of the verse it really grates if you (sorry!) have a musical ear!

I might tweet the band to tell them! I SOOOOO don't want that to be the case at Glastonbury!

Eek!

Ben

Genuinely quite confused as to why you might have downvoted that, @gratefulbread!

Don't misunderstand me, I'm not precious about such things, notwithstanding the fact that I am not a great supporter of the concept of downvoting in general. For me, if you like something, let people know. If you don't, maybe respond as to why. But that's just me.

I'm interested as to why you would take offence to my observing that a great band's great performance was slightly marred by their not having tuned to a (relatively) untunable instrument. I don't know if you ever watch 'classical' music, but if there's a piano there, everyone in the orchestra tunes to it. If not, then they'll tune to the leader (principal first violin, conventionally).

Saw Fleet Foxes at Latitude in 2017, who's latest record is piano heavy. Clearly the band were regularly tuning to the piano to ensure they were on point.

Anyway, do let me know what irked you so.

Ben

Edited May 26, 2019 by bennyhana22

[Phoenix Girl]

2 hours ago, bennyhana22 said:

The piano in Harmony Hall is the secret to that song's brilliance and, unfortunately, the band are not in tune with it! The guitars, quite normally, are tuning to digital tuners but, obviously, the piano is not tunable during the performance (it would take an hour!) and is not perfectly at the same frequency as the digital tuners. That means that when the beautiful piano chords chop in at the end of the verse it really grates if you (sorry!) have a musical ear!

I might tweet the band to tell them! I SOOOOO don't want that to be the case at Glastonbury!

Eek!

Ben

Ha, I see you on twitter Ben doing just that. FWIW I can hear it. The whole thing just sounds ever so slightly off to me (does sound get distorted through recording equipment?) BUT it’s amazing despite that, and I’m so looking forward to seeing them on the farm (and on their tour in Nov). 

[Hugh Jass]

Pyramid sub on Sunday works perfectly for me.

Kylie > Fontaines DC > VW > The Cure

Job done.

[bennyhana22]

6 minutes ago, Phoenix Girl said:

Ha, I see you on twitter Ben doing just that. FWIW I can hear it. The whole thing just sounds ever so slightly off to me (does sound get distorted through recording equipment?) BUT it’s amazing despite that, and I’m so looking forward to seeing them on the farm (and on their tour in Nov). 

Absolutely. I haven't seen them since Latitude in 2010! Love the new record and don't see why people don't like the length, number of songs etc. I think it's a really 'sweet' record. I think I want them on Pyramid, even though it's not really my stomping ground. The sound can be so good and VW's intricate little guitar figures need super sweet clarity!

Ben