Photo of Vampire Weekend by Michael Schmelling
w/ Ra Ra Riot | 7:00pm | 750 Casino Center Dr., Maryland Hts. | All ages | from $59.50 (tickets)
Vampire Weekend, for all of their success and acclaim, often found themselves the easiest target in indie music for criticism, the perennial butt of countless jokes on social media and forums named things like Pretentious Hipster Irony Zone. Their chipper prep school boy vibe and presentation felt like propaganda in the post-recession music world and Vampire Weekend perhaps inspired, more than any other, for labels to go all in on what we would later call the era of Landfill Indie. I have memories of working my dead-end job at Blockbuster in the late 2000s, and multiple promo DVDs we played in the store featured the music video for “A-Punk” off of their self-titled record. It was something that myself and my coworkers grew to hate above many other things, and we worked at a Blockbuster. Listening to that song now still gives me the urge to dip my head into a tub of acetone and run full speed into a brick wall.
So trust and believe when I say that Vampire Weekend have created a record worth your time and attention with Only God Was Above Us.
Work on the album started in 2019, with recording sessions taking place across multiple continents. A long production period can sometimes signal a troubled project, but with Only God Was Above Us it appears that this time was used to deliver one of the most unique releases of the decade so far. Yes, there are jumpy afro-pop guitars and chamber pop sensibilities, but their appearances are much more subdued compared to Vampire Weekend’s past efforts. Firmly in the territory of indie pop, the record has a sporadic liveliness to it, with many elements feeling punched-in like a sound collage on 2-inch tape rather than something rigidly constructed in Pro Tools. Here, the studio and the mixing desk are just as much an instrument as anything else. Not since Yves Tumor’s PRAISE A LORD WHO CHEWS, BUT WHICH DOES NOT CONSUME has there been a record with such spirited production that even the drums deserve their own dedicated listen. Ezra Koenig and his cohorts have created something that absolutely drips with inspiration. Lead singles “Capricorn” and “Gen-X Cops” aurally and materially look back, but without being poisoned by nostalgia. No doubt Vampire Weekend’s performance at Saint Louis Music Park on July 25th, 2024 will be just as amazing. | Bryan J. Sutter
Vampire Weekend 2024 tour: Mon 07.22 – Kansas City, MO – Starlight Theatre
Tue 07.23 – Lincoln, NE – Pinewood Bowl Theater
Thu 07.25 – Maryland Heights, MO – Saint Louis Music Park
Fri 07.26 – Chicago, IL – Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
Sat 07.27 – Chicago, IL – Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
Tue 07.30 – Minneapolis, MN – The Armory
Wed 07.31 – Minneapolis, MN – The Armory
Thu 08.01 – Milwaukee, WI – BMO Pavilion
Sat 08.03 – St. Charles, IA – Hinterland*
Thu 09.19 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center
Fri 09.20 – Cincinnati, OH – The ICON Festival Stage at Smale Park
Sat 09.21 – Indianapolis, IN – Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park
Mon 09.23 – Rochester Hills, MI – Meadow Brook Amphitheatre
Tue 09.24 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage
Wed 09.25 – Laval, QC – Place Bell
Fri 09.27 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
Sat 09.28 – Philadelphia, PA – TD Pavilion at The Mann
Mon 09.30 – Washington, DC – The Anthem
Tue 10.01 – Washington, DC – The Anthem
Wed 10.02 – Charlottesville, VA – Ting Pavilion
Sat 10.05 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
Sun 10.06 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden (Matinee Show)
Tue 10.08 – Wilmington, NC – Live Oak Bank Pavilion
Wed 10.09 – Raleigh, NC – Red Hat Amphitheater
Fri 10.11 – Nashville, TN – Ascend Amphitheater
Sat 10.12 – Atlanta, GA – Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park
Sun 10.13 – Asheville, NC – Rabbit Rabbit
Tue 10.15 – St. Augustine, FL – St. Augustine Amphitheatre
Thu 10.17 – Austin, TX – Moody Center
Fri 11.29 – Dublin, Ireland – 3Arena
Sun 12.01 – Manchester, UK – O2 Apollo
Mon 12.02 – Manchester, UK – O2 Apollo
Wed 12.04 – London, UK – Eventim Apollo
Fri 12.06 – Wolverhampton, UK – The Halls
Sun 12.08 – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
Tue 12.10 – London, UK – O2 Academy Brixton
Fri 12.13 – Paris, France – Adidas Arena
Sun 12.15 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – AFAS Live
