Vampire Weekend: Father of the Bride (2LP) [COLUMBIA]

Why you'll love it

This 2LP set comes in an embossed gatefold jacket with a lyrics and credits poster. It won the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album, earned an Album of the Year nomination and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

This edition

• 2LP set
• Gatefold jacket
• Embossed cover
• Poster included
• Pressed in the EU

About the album

Six years is a long gap between albums, and Ezra Koenig kept busy: he created the animated series Neo Yokio, co-wrote and produced a song on Beyoncé's Lemonade and moved from New York to Los Angeles. When Rostam Batmanglij stepped away from the band in 2016, the two kept working together, and Vampire Weekend signed to Columbia and started on a record that spent a while under the working title Mitsubishi Macchiato.

Koenig produced it with Ariel Rechtshaid, mostly at Rechtshaid's home studio in Silver Lake, with stops at Vox Studios in Hollywood and Sony's studios in Tokyo. The guest list is long: Danielle Haim duets on "Hold You Now" and "Married In A Gold Rush," Steve Lacy adds his guitar to "Sunflower," and Batmanglij, DJ Dahi, Sam Gendel and BloodPop all chip in. "Harmony Hall" bounces along on bright piano, "This Life" sets heavy lyrics to a sunny strut, and "Hold You Now" borrows a choir from Hans Zimmer's Thin Red Line score. Country, jam-band noodling and Japanese pop all wander through.

Koenig promised a spring-time mood back in 2017, and he delivered one, then took it on the road with a seven-piece band. Eighteen songs over four sides is what the band call a double album and what we call a very reasonable Sunday.

Also at Kops: more Vampire Weekend on vinyl · browse Alternative

Tracklist

Listen

On Columbia (cat# 19075930141), a reissue of the 2019 album.