It’s that time of the month and Vampire Weekend has dropped two more promotional singles for their forthcoming album Father of the Bride, “This Life” and “Unbearable White.” These are the last few songs the band will release prior to their fourth studio album coming out on May 3rd under Columbia Records.
“This Life” embraces a bright, upbeat tone from frontman Ezra Koenig, but the lyrics narrate a story about infidelity. He starts to sing, “Baby, I know love isn’t what I thought it was / ‘Cause I’ve never known a love like this before” through tropical guitar chords and rhythmic handclaps. He then dives into evaluating his current relationship and himself, singing, “I’ve been cheating on, cheating on you / You’ve been cheating on me / But I’ve been cheating through this life and all its suffering / Oh Christ, am I good for nothing?” The song features backing vocals from Danielle Haim of pop-rock sister band HAIM, and additional guitar from Koenig’s Beats1 radio show ‘Time Crisis’ co-host, Jake Longstreth.
“Unbearably White” is a more mellowed-down, moody track, with a mix of that light Vampire Weekend touch. This track tends to follow in parallel with “This Life,” as it narrates a story on the edge of drifting apart. He starts the track off with singing, “Baby, I love you / But that’s enough / And pulling away has been unbearably buff.” This song features elements of handbells and the washboard to accompany isolated vocals towards the end of the song. At one point, Koenig sings “You walked to the bedroom / And sat down to write / The page in your notebook was unbearably white,” which could be reference to writers block on his part. The song was written by Koenig and produced by Ariel Rechtshaid and himself, with an additional help from BloodPop.
These new tracks end Vampire Weekend’s monthly release of two promotional singles, originally beginning in January with “Harmony Hall” and “2021.” In February, they didn’t release any new tracks, but they picked right back up in March and this month. The band has released a third of their 18-track album, giving fans a sense of the new sound the band has cultivated.
The band has also announced their Summer tour dates in support of Father of the Bride. Fans will just have to listen to the six promotional singles until the release of the upcoming album in a month.
Photo taken by Raymond Flotat