| Father of the Bride | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 3, 2019 (2019-05-03) | |||
| Recorded | 2012, January 2016 – August 2018 | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 57:50 | |||
| Label |
| |||
| Producer | ||||
| Vampire Weekend chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Father of the Bride | ||||
| ||||
Father of the Bride is the fourth studio album by Americanindie rock bandVampire Weekend. It was released on May 3, 2019, byColumbia Records, as their first album on a major label.
The release marked the band's first project in nearly six years, followingModern Vampires of the City (2013), and the group's first project since multi-instrumentalist and producerRostam Batmanglij's departure from the group. It was primarily produced byModern Vampires of the City collaboratorAriel Rechtshaid and lead singerEzra Koenig, and features numerous external collaborators, includingDanielle Haim,Steve Lacy, Dave Macklovitch ofChromeo,DJ Dahi,Sam Gendel,BloodPop, and Batmanglij. Thepop andindie rock album is musically diverse and heavily referential, contrasting heavy and direct lyrics against a bright spring-time musical mood, with its wide range of influences includingcountry music andjam bands.
The album was preceded by three double singles: "Harmony Hall" / "2021", "Sunflower" / "Big Blue" and "This Life" / "Unbearably White". Upon release, it received widespread acclaim from music critics, earning the band their secondGrammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album as well as their first nomination for theGrammy Award for Album of the Year. It was also a commercial success, becoming the group's third consecutive album to debut at number one on the USBillboard 200. The band promoted the album with a global tour, featuring an expanded seven-person lineup.
In May 2013, the band releasedModern Vampires of the City to critical and commercial success, winning theGrammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album. The album was promoted with a world tour, which concluded in September 2014. Tired from the tour, the band took a break from writing and recording. During this period, Koenig created the animated television seriesNeo Yokio and co-wrote and produced "Hold Up" fromBeyoncé'sLemonade. He also gradually relocated from New York City to Los Angeles.[3]
On January 26, 2016,Rostam Batmanglij announced his departure from the band viaTwitter, emphasizing that he and Koenig would continue to collaborate.[4] Later the same day, Koenig announced that Vampire Weekend had begun working on their fourth album, under the working titleMitsubishi Macchiato, with Batmanglij contributing to the record.[5] In November 2016 it was reported that the group had signed toColumbia Records, marking their departure fromXL Recordings.[6] During 2016 Koenig spent time writing the album and researching in libraries withgrad students. In March 2017, he said the album would feature a "spring-time" vibe and at the time consisted of songs entitled "Flower Moon" and "Conversation".[7]
The album was primarily recorded in producerAriel Rechtshaid's home studio inSilver Lake, Los Angeles – dubbed Effie Street Studios – as well asVox Studios in Hollywood and Sony Music Studios in Tokyo.[1] This led to numerous collaborations with Rechtshaid's then-girlfriendDanielle Haim.[8] In September 2017 Koenig said the album was "about 80% done".[9] Batmanglij was involved in the album, and in a December interview Koenig noted that their method of partnership had not changed despite Batmanglij's departure from the band.
On the other hand, Koenig's remaining Vampire Weekend bandmates, bassistChris Baio and drummerChris Tomson, were not involved in the album. In 2024 Koenig would state that the album was made with "them having some confidence in me to take us somewhere interesting, and me having confidence that they’d be down to kind of wait and still be a part of it."[10]
Koenig also stated that working withKanye West had inspired him to include a wider variety of musicians on the album, and that his songwriting for the album had been influenced by country singerKacey Musgraves. On the influence he said, "I'm the type of person who has spent hours poring over the avant-garde poetic lyrics of certain songwriters, and there was something that felt so good [about how] from the first verse, you knew who was singing, who they were singing to, what kind of situation they were in", noting that this hadn't applied to many Vampire Weekend songs.[11] On August 4, 2018, Koenig announced that the album had been completed.[12]
Thepop[13][14][15] andindie rock[16][17] album is heavily referential both lyrically and musically, channeling a springtime mood despite its "encyclopedic" density.[18] It explores a broader musical palette than past releases by the band, and contrasts warm, pleasant music against heavy and dark lyrics. Key musical styles explored throughout the album includeR&B,soul,country,folk,rock,art pop andbaroque pop.[19][20][21] Thedouble album's wide range of musical styles has been compared tothe Beatles'White Album (1968),[14][22] although Koenig considers the album closer to more thematically cohesive double albums such asBruce Springsteen'sThe River (1980) andPaolo Conte'sAguaplano (1987).[8][23] The loose style of the album has been compared tojam bands such as TheGrateful Dead[22] andPhish.[24] It has also been described as more American than the group's earlier work, with Koenig's voice and guitar both adapting aroots twang,[25] and songs channeling theGreat American Songbook.[14]
The album's lyrical style is more direct and straightforward than Koenig's previous writing, inspired by American country singerKacey Musgraves.[19] Themes explored on the album include lost youth, romantic downfall, political strife, uncertainty, doom, complacency, environmentalism, and existentialism, with an eventual arc towards redemption and rebirth.[14][24][26][27][28] Weddings and churches act as recurring motifs exploring love, and the album frequently features biblical imagery.[15] Koenig considers the album to be more lyrically cohesive than previous work, stating: "the genres, maybe, and the references go all over the place but I actually think lyrically it’s one of the most unified [Vampire Weekend] albums".[8]
"Hold You Now" has been described byThe Times as "a gorgeous,folky opener". It contains a sample fromHans Zimmer's choral score forThe Thin Red Line.[29] It is the first of three duets withDanielle Haim on the album, and its simple lyrics feature Koenig and Haim trading verses about seizing the moment in a relationship.[19] Koenig described these duets as the album's "tentpoles", taking inspiration from country duets byConway Twitty andLoretta Lynn.[8][30] He chose to open the album with sparse vocals and acoustic guitar because he thought it was a "weird way to open a Vampire Weekend record".[8] "Harmony Hall" features warm and joyful music, with a "springtime" mood, and has been compared musically to theGrateful Dead's "Touch of Grey" (1987). Influences fromrave,baggy andMadchester music from 1990s England, such as "Unbelievable" byEMF, are also evident in its piano and beat, withBaroque elements in its bridge.[31][32][33] The "buoyant" music is juxtaposed against dark lyrics, with the track interpolating the line "I don't wanna live like this, but I don't wanna die" from "Finger Back" on the band's previous albumModern Vampires of the City (2013).[34][35] The brief and eclectic "Bambina", inspired byCouperin'sLes Barricades Mystérieuses, featuresvocoder and "crunchy" guitars.[36][37] The musically bright and upbeat "This Life" contains handclaps and lively guitars, with Koenig's lyrics exploring "spiritual uncertainty" with levity, interpolating the line "You’ve been cheating on, cheating on me / I’ve been cheating on, cheating on you" from "Tonight" by American rapperiLoveMakonnen.[38] It has been musically compared to "Brown Eyed Girl" byVan Morrison (1967).[18][38] "Big Blue" ambiguously explores religious and cosmic uncertainty, with the concise track including ambient arpeggios, sporadic drum samples, "flowery" harmonies, a choir and detuned guitar riffs as it builds dynamically.[39][24] Its sparse electronic backdrop has been compared to the music on Kanye West's808s & Heartbreak (2008), while its "weeping" guitar style has been compared to the works ofGeorge Harrison.[19]
The "lurching"art pop of "How Long?" contrasts jovial andfunky keyboards, sound effects, harmonies and guitars against dark and bitter lyrics about the potential demise ofLos Angeles.[13][19][40] Writing the song, Koenig was inspired by bothhip hop andalternative rock from the 1990s.[8] "Unbearably White" is a "colorful" art pop song, which develops to incorporate isolated vocals, handbells,jazz fusion-inspired bass guitar, and orchestral surges, and lyrically discusses a failing relationship.[13][41][42] Despite the title's allusion to criticisms of the band, the track does not primarily explore race.[18][41] The cryptic "Rich Man" samplespalm-wine guitaristS. E. Rogie,[27] and features lush strings, with Koenig "crooning" about romance, wealth and ratios.[43] Koenig began writing the song at the56th Annual Grammy Awards where the group wonBest Alternative Music Album forModern Vampires of the City.[8] "Married in a Gold Rush" is a "lush"country song, and the second on the album to feature Danielle Haim.[29]
The regretful and moody "My Mistake" incorporatesjazz,lounge andexperimentalism, featuring "watery" sampled field sounds.[15][21][24] Thefreak folk[44] andflamenco song "Sympathy" contains influences fromSchaffeltechno,[25]rave,[37] and English rock bandNew Order.[13] It has been described as "one of the band's most bonkers tracks to date",[45] while Koenig has characterized it as "the mostmetal Vampire Weekend’s ever gotten".[8] The unorthodox andpsychedelic "Sunflower" opens with guitar, bass andscatted vocal runs in unison, reminiscent ofprog, with its chorus shifting to warmsoul-pop. It features abstract lyrics and channels the musical palette of the 1970s,[46][47] with Koenig comparing the track to the music ofPhish.[8] The track featuresthe Internet singer and guitaristSteve Lacy, who also contributed to companion track "Flower Moon",[48] which has been described as anauto-tunedchorale, in the style ofthe Beach Boys and music fromSoweto.[13] "2021" is a minimal and romantic ballad,[49] built around a sample of ambient track "Talking",[1] composed in the 1980s byHaruomi Hosono for Japanese retail companyMuji. It features a soft pulsing synthesizer and fingerpicked guitars, along with a distorted vocal sample of the word "boy" sung byJenny Lewis.[50][49][51]
The anthemic and extravagant "We Belong Together" is the third and final duet with Haim,[29] and has been compared to "Mull of Kintyre" (1977) byWings and the production work ofKanye West.[13] The track incorporates an early demo recorded by Koenig and Rostam Batmanglij atMartha's Vineyard in April 2012, as well as a separate idea Koenig wrote at a piano;[52] Koenig has described it as potentially the band's most "wholesome" song.[8] "Stranger" explores domesticity,[36] musically incorporatingsaxophones into its relaxed groove.[20] The song's lyric "things have never been stranger; things are gonna stay strange" has been widely highlighted as a microcosm of the album's core message.[53][54][27] Koenig has said that the song explores "when you’re in a house and you hear other people having a good time and you don’t feel left out because you have a sense of belonging".[8] Thein media res narrative of "Spring Snow" laments a farewell to a lover, depicting harsh rays of sunglight and heavy snow against a musical backdrop ofchamber pop with aLatin groove.[55][56][57] The "sad" album closer "Jerusalem, New York, Berlin" references theBalfour Declaration,[29] and has musically been compared to the works of Scottish electronic musicianSophie.[40] Koenig chose the three titular cities for their significance to the Jewish people, in order to explore the "struggle of identity". He also found significance in what the three cities represented more broadly, withJerusalem signifying religion,New York signifying money andBerlin signifying culture.[58]
The album's Japanese bonus tracks include "Houston Dubai", a cover ofMickey Newbury's "I Don't Think Much About Her No More" (1969) and "Lord Ullin's Daughter". The latter song features English actorJude Law reciting Scottish poetThomas Campbell's poem of the same name over a stripped back rendition of "Big Blue".[59]
I didn't want it to be a cool photograph of the earth in space, I wanted it to have a little bit of that tension of being Mother Nature, the planet that we live on, but also something border-line uncomfortable with that raw digital whiteness just surrounding it.
The album's simple cover artwork depicts a globe in a cartoon style that has been compared to the aesthetics of 1960s grass-roots groupAnother Mother for Peace, 1990s environmentalism and the early internet. The artwork also places emphasis on theSony Music logo, and has been described as "in keeping with Koenig’s idiosyncratic idea of kitsch".[60][61] Discussing the cover, Koenig commented that he "always knew [he] wanted the Earth to be on this raw digital white background", and expressed interest in the idea of "bright, raw whiteness", such as on a blank piece of paper or the peak of a mountain, as well as on digital screens, relating the idea to the track "Unbearably White".[62] He also stated that the artwork relates to the album's motif of ecology, and a nostalgia for the optimism of environmentalism in the 1990s.[58] He initially considered using the poster foranime filmMobile Suit Gundam 00 Special Edition III: Return the World (2010) as the album's artwork, but decided that due to the album's length "the album cover ha[d] to be incredibly simple. Not full of texture and detail".[23] Koenig has likened this simplicity to the covers of otherdouble albums such asthe Beatles'White Album (1968),Fleetwood Mac'sTusk (1979) andBruce Springsteen'sThe River (1980).[58]
In September 2017, Koenig began teasing the album's progression through updates on the percentage of its completion.[63] Music from the album was debuted in June 2018 as a part of the band's first live show since 2014, inOjai, California. At the show Koenig performed a snippet of "Flower Moon", noting that the song featuredSteve Lacy.[64][65] During the group'sLollapaloozaafter-show in August, the group debuted new music from Koenig's phone for the audience, including "Harmony Hall" and "Sunflower".[66][67]
On January 17, 2019, Koenig announced the album title's initialism,FOTB, as well as its length. He also revealed that the album would be promoted by three monthlydouble A-side singles.[68] The album's first singles, "Harmony Hall" and "2021", were released on January 24, 2019, with the album's full title announced.[69] A music video for "Harmony Hall" was released in February, directed byEmmett Malloy.[70] The second double single, consisting of "Sunflower" featuring Lacy, and "Big Blue" was released on March 6, alongside an announcement of the album's May 3 release date and artwork.[67] TheJonah Hill-directed music video for "Sunflower" was released the following week.[71] The final double single was released on April 4, including "This Life" and "Unbearably White".[72] A music video for "This Life" was released on May 20, also directed by Malloy.[73]
While released as a Vampire Weekend album,Father of the Bride was presented as an Ezra Koenig solo project in which he appeared by himself in promotional photos without Chris Baio and Chris Tomson, who weren't involved in the album's creation but would remain part of the band for its live shows. In 2024, Koenig explained that presenting the album as a solo project was a means of protecting the band through a difficult transition after losing a member and following up their most acclaimed album to date, at a time when the era of indie music they emerged from had come to an end.[10]
On February 28, 2020, a deluxe version of the album was released on digital platforms, containing three tracks which had previously only been available on the album's Japanese release.[74]
The band incorporated an expanded touring line-up to promote the album, with Brian Robert Jones,Greta Morgan, Garrett Ray and Will Canzoneri joining the group.[75][76] In January 2019, the band announced a North American tour, beginning on May 17 atGulf Shores, Alabama, forHangout Music Festival. Supporting acts for the tour includeAngélique Kidjo,Despot andSoccer Mommy.[77] In March further performances were announced across Europe.[78] The group also promoted the album in a series of shows dubbed the "Three Little London Shows" in March.[79] On May 5, two days after the album's release, the band performed three consecutive sets atWebster Hall in New York City, including a performance of the album in full and a majority of the group's back catalogue, as well as appearances byHaim andDev Hynes. The show concluded a three-stop tour of New York State.[80][81] During a September performance atMadison Square Garden, the band announced new 2020 tour dates.[82]
On March 21, the group appeared onBBC Radio 1'sLive Lounge, performing "Harmony Hall" and a cover of "Sunflower" byPost Malone andSwae Lee, in reference to the album's track of the same name.[83] In the week following the album's release, they appeared onThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, performing "This Life" and "Jerusalem, New York, Berlin" alongside Haim,[84] and onJimmy Kimmel Live!, performing "Sunflower".[85] On June 26, the band performed a piano-driven version of "This Life" and a cover ofBruce Springsteen's "I'm Goin' Down" (1985) at New York'sElectric Lady Studios for theSpotify Singles series.[86] The group performed, promoting the album, at theGlastonbury Festival.
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 7.5/10[87] |
| Metacritic | 82/100[88] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [89] |
| Chicago Tribune |  [55] |
| The Daily Telegraph | [16] |
| The Guardian | [14] |
| The Independent | [26] |
| NME | [37] |
| The Observer | [15] |
| Pitchfork | 8.0/10[24] |
| Rolling Stone | [13] |
| Vice (Expert Witness) | B+[28] |
Father of the Bride was met with widespread critical acclaim. AtMetacritic, which assigns anormalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album has received anaverage score of 82, based on 33 reviews.[88] The aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 7.5 out of 10, based on its assessment of the critical consensus.[87]
David Fricke ofRolling Stone described the album as a "masterpiece", praising its meticulous attention to detail and musical breadth, and concluding that "Vampire Weekend now look like the smartest guys in the room, marshalling a sumptuous, emotionally complex music perfect in this pop moment".[13]The Guardian'sAlexis Petridis wrote that the album showcased "a band pushing past their boundaries with striking results", and that the few ineffective ideas on the album are significantly outweighed by its highlights.[14]Kitty Empire of sister publicationThe Observer praised the album's breadth and maturity, writing that it "exudes warmth and no little sonic familiarity, while reflecting what is a radically altered set-up".[15] Chris DeVille ofStereogum wrote that the album could potentially be the group's magnum opus and that it "manages to be both a casual joyride and a multi-layered dissertation on the world’s ills".[53]Variety's Zack Ruskin asserted that the album consists of "inventive, often brilliant ideas delivered with little concern for how palatable listeners might find them", concluding that the album's pleasant music "could soundtrack an afternoon picnic" while its esoteric lyrics could "be used as fodder for a doctorate thesis on songwriting".[22] ForThe Wall Street Journal, Mark Richardson wrote that the album's quality justified the long wait for its release, writing that despite its length the album felt focused as opposed to sprawling.[90]
Jon Pareles ofThe New York Times praised the album's contrast between heavy lyrics and bright music,[27] whileNeil McCormick ofThe Daily Telegraph complimented Koenig's "joyous" experimentation with music and incisive language, advising listeners not to take the record too seriously.[16] ForThe Independent, Jazz Monroe commended Koenig for maturing without becoming self-serious, writing that the album's low stakes and "unfashionable" nature were its strongest features.[26] In her review forAllMusic, Heather Phares wrote that the album "finds Vampire Weekend embracing change and delivering some of their most mature and satisfying music in the process".[89] Thomas Smith ofNME praised the album's fun nature, writing that it "sounds like the work of some pals noodling away in the studio and shooting the shit" and "more often than not it’s a hit, not a miss".[37] InRobert Christgau's Expert Witness column forVice, he applauded Koenig's complex exploration of class, describing it as a "sprightly, allusive, elusive, technically accomplished collection" that generally "bespeak[s] some fraught combination of lost youth, career anxiety, and, way down deep, political dismay." His one caveat was that the songs are "melodic yet seldom uplifting or effervescent".[28]
In a more critical review,Greg Kot of theChicago Tribune described the album as "mild", noting that Koenig's lyrical expressions of discomfort were not conveyed through the pleasant music.[55] ForPitchfork, Mike Powell opined that the album was somewhat overlong and dispensable compared to past releases, and that its discussion of contentment and belonging felt unsuited to the group, but praised the album's braveness and new musical direction.[24] Steven Edelstone ofPaste criticized the album's lyrics, and Koenig's adoption of a "derivative" musical style that did not fit the band, concluding that "it’s simply impossible not to wonder what happened and where they lost their way, culminating in a major disappointment for perhaps the most anticipated indie rock album in recent memory".[17]Spin's Jordan Sargent argued that the album was likely the band's worst, yet still rewarding. He praised the band's development, writing: "On the one hand, everything sounds spectacular; on the other, the album does contain some of the worst ideas the band has ever put to tape".[54]
At the62nd Annual Grammy Awards,Father of the Bride was awardedBest Alternative Music Album.[91] The album was also the group's first to be nominated forAlbum of the Year, while "Harmony Hall" was nominated forBest Rock Song.[92]
The album appeared on multiple 2019 year-end lists. At Album of the Year, a website which creates an aggregate of music critic's year-end lists,Father of the Bride was listed at rank 11 for 2019.[93]Entertainment Weekly[44] andThrillist[94] named it the best album of the year, whileVulture,[95]The Observer'sKitty Empire,[96]Us Weekly,[97]British GQ[98] andStereogum[99] listed it in their top five. TheLos Angeles Times,[100]Slant,[101]BrooklynVegan,[102]Rolling Stone,[103]Consequence of Sound[104] andSlate[105] included the album in their top ten, while it was listed among the top 25 byBillboard,[106]NME,[107]The Guardian,[108]Flood,[109]The Atlantic,[110]Paste,[111]GQ[112] andPitchfork.[113] Other publications that includedFather of the Bride in their year-end lists includeComplex,[114]Uncut,[115]Uproxx,[116]Mojo,[117] andAllMusic.[118]
The album was also included in decade-end lists for the 2010s by BrooklynVegan (35),[119]Stereogum (84)[120] andRolling Stone (92).[121]
Father of the Bride debuted at number one on the USBillboard 200 with 138,000album-equivalent units, including 119,000 pure album sales. It is Vampire Weekend's third consecutive US number-one album.[122][123] Additionally, 13 songs from the album, including all six of its singles, reached the top 50 ofBillboard's USHot Rock Songs chart.[124] The album also reached number two in the UK[125] and Scotland,[126] and the top ten in Portugal,[127] Ireland,[128] Canada,[129] Australia[130] and the Flemish Region of Belgium.[131]
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes[1] andTidal.[132]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hold You Now" (featuringDanielle Haim) |
| 2:33 | |
| 2. | "Harmony Hall" | Koenig |
| 5:08 |
| 3. | "Bambina" | Koenig |
| 1:42 |
| 4. | "This Life" |
| 4:28 | |
| 5. | "Big Blue" | Koenig |
| 1:48 |
| 6. | "How Long?" |
| 3:32 | |
| 7. | "Unbearably White" | Koenig | 4:40 | |
| 8. | "Rich Man" |
|
| 2:29 |
| 9. | "Married in a Gold Rush" (featuring Danielle Haim) | Koenig | Rechtshaid | 3:42 |
| 10. | "My Mistake" |
|
| 3:18 |
| 11. | "Sympathy" |
|
| 3:46 |
| 12. | "Sunflower" (featuringSteve Lacy) | Koenig |
| 2:17 |
| 13. | "Flower Moon" (featuring Steve Lacy) |
|
| 3:57 |
| 14. | "2021" |
|
| 1:38 |
| 15. | "We Belong Together" (featuring Danielle Haim) |
| Batmanglij | 3:10 |
| 16. | "Stranger" | Koenig |
| 4:08 |
| 17. | "Spring Snow" |
|
| 2:40 |
| 18. | "Jerusalem, New York, Berlin" | Koenig | 2:54 | |
| Total length: | 57:50 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19. | "Houston Dubai" | Koenig |
| 2:19 |
| 20. | "I Don't Think Much About Her No More" | Mickey Newbury |
| 2:49 |
| 21. | "Lord Ullin's Daughter" (featuringJude Law) |
|
| 3:38 |
| Total length: | 66:36 | |||
Notes
Samples
Adapted from the album'sliner notes andTidal.[1][2]
According to the album's liner notes.[b]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[152] | Silver | 60,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[153] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various | May 3, 2019 |
| ||
| CD | 19075930132(US) | |||
| LP | 19075930141(US) | |||
| Cassette | 19075946164(US) | |||
| Japan[154] | May 15, 2019 | Sony Records International | CD | SICP-6117 |
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)