Vampire Weekend - Only God Was Above Us (2024)

I have a somewhat nostalgic connection to this band, especially their second album, which released around the time I first moved to LA and coincided with a move by the band itself from NYC to LA with an accompanying shift in tone and lyrical content. There was something magical about hearing the very beginning of "Horchata" while walking around LA at night when it was cold enough for a jacket (probably not a thing these days). But like with most bands I used to love and follow, I've fallen out of touch with them, so I was pleasantly surprised to see this new album of theirs was being well-received. Let's fire it up!

After listening though, I really need to know something: Is it me or is it them? Am I dead inside and that is preventing my enjoyment of so much new music nowadays or is the new music missing something that the old stuff had? Maybe my expectations for this were too high. I'm not saying it's bad or even disappointing! Clearly a lot of thought has gone into it and it was well-made. I think you can definitely say Vampire Weekend is doing a great job of treading the line between not forgetting their roots entirely but also growing and trying new things. To hear a good example of this, check out Mary Boone. I hope VW sticks around for a long time. I just don't know if I would go back and listen to this a second time.

There are at least two, possibly three tracks I would add to a "Favorites" playlist, however. Capricorn (track 3) was the first track on the album I really liked. Prep School Gangster is also definitely a highlight and calls back to Contra.

Are their lyrics nonsense, or is there something in there? I'll leave it to the actually professional reviewers to decipher. I can say though that the lyrics are still full of fun references that make you feel like you need to touch grass, so I'm glad they haven't lost that aspect.

Gen-X Cops is probably the best, most memorable track on the album, and the one I'm most interested in picking apart what they're trying to say in the lyrics.

Long story short, maybe I'm too dead inside, maybe not, but if you like VW you should definitely listen to this.