American indie rock band Vampire Weekend’s fifth studio album Only God Was Above Us is their recent release in five years since Father of the Bride (2019). Vampire Weekend leads listeners through a collage of their signature sound through embodying a battle within themselves and against inequality. The album’s opener, “Ice Cream Truck” slowly eases listeners with its hushed distorted production before abruptly ending manically. The track features lead singer Ezra Koenig opens the song as a rock ballad that slowly climaxes into an upbeat frantic indie rock song that includes piano and a rushed arrangement that demands its audience’s attention. Lyrically, this song could be interpreted as a commentary on culture wars — how these types of conflicts and arguments between two individuals cannot be solved. Sonically, the album takes its listeners through a journey of the band’s reflection, pessimism and acceptance.
Produced by band members, Ezra Koenig (lead vocals, guitars) Chris Tomson (drums), Ariel Rechtshaid and Rostam Batmanglij. The album’s themes mainly focus on war and inequality of the inner self while set against a brash production that includes, piano, arpeggios and slide guitars. The lead single, “Capricorn” sets Koenig’s melancholy vocals, delivering a performance that metaphorically describes the inability to accept aging and the feeling of being powerless. The verses on this track share a thematic similarity of treading and pushing hard through obstacles in life — “I know you’re tired of trying / listen clearly, / you don’t have to try.” Koenig’s lyrical balladry refers to a generation that is tired of trying to change the challenges left over by its predecessors, such as climate change. The verse, “Too old for dyin’ young / too young to live alone,” refers to those in middle age who seem to feel powerless in an age of uncertainty.
Coupled with the single’s double A-side, “Gen-X Cops” alludes to how fate can sometimes hit people in the worst way, resulting in missed chances. The current generation watching the youth experience freedom and happiness, while they themselves reflect on events, pondering times that were good for them.
Furthermore, the production throughout Only God Was Above Us, can be described as a musically charged symphony, that includes bold orchestral instrumentation, their poetic lyricism and memorable melodies. This album takes its audience through a journey of rediscovering their roots and questioning of going back to the way it once was.
Highlights of the album include the piano driven song, “Connect” with lyrics that question the yearning for human connection within a capitalistic society. The song refers to a feeling of spiritual connectivity that was more accessible in the past, a simpler time, one the listener will never be able go back to. Additionally, the dissonance in the arrangements of the songs may gravitate towards listeners as they clash against one another, creating a vivid landscape of distortion and confusion. While “The Surfer” devolves the listener into a world that keeps itself from progressing. Sonically, it starts with a long intro that hauntingly eases the audience into a higher frequency; like a ghost of a generation that is bleak and void of awareness in this jarring rhythm throughout the track.
“Pravda,” the second to last track culminates Vampire Weekend’s message of mass consciousness, by intertwining arpeggio beats set against acoustic guitars and Koenig’s vocals, which question internal conflicts of truth from those within power. Lines such as “Your consciousness is not my problem / And I hope you know / your brain is not bulletproof” suggest the inner struggle of distinguishing truth from the motives of those in power, mainly authorities. The track builds to a crescendo of piano, horns and intricate trilling instrumentation. It is a track that creates a sonic atmosphere for listeners.
The album’s closer, “Hope,” ends the record with the metaphoric message in finding peace and acceptance of the world’s problems, how we cannot change and to let go. Beginning with a lingering intro and ending with an instrumental outro, verses such as “the enemy’s invisible / I hope you let it go” touch on subjects such as world politics and religion, which often creates unrest and an inability to accept change.
Only God Was Above Us is a highly recommended album for anyone looking for an experimental indie rock record that balances complex instrumentation and harsh, brash production. This is sure to be a smash record for listeners, new and old.
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