Favorite Lyric: “There's two seats on the midnight train / The gold won't weigh us down...”
</div> <p style="text-align: justify;" data-type="item-text"> </p> <p style="text-align: justify;" data-type="item-text"/> <div class="pager"> <ul class="pagination-list"> <li><a nofollow="" title="Next" href="https://younghollywood.com/scene/track-by-track-vampire-weekend-s-father-of-the-bride.html?limitstart=9&ajax=1" class="pagenav" onclick="infload('https://younghollywood.com/scene/track-by-track-vampire-weekend-s-father-of-the-bride.html?limitstart=9&ajax=1&ajax=1&paged=1', jQuery(this), true); jQuery(this).parents('.pager').remove(); return false;"> <i class="icon-next">Next</i> <i class="fa fa-chevron-right icon-rarrow"> </i></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <script type="text/javascript"><![CDATA[ console.log('firing infinite ads - 1080'); // jQuery('.tab-divs').on('load', function() { (window.asc = window.asc || {"cmd":[]}).cmd.push(function(){ window.asc.processAdsOnPage(); }); // }); ]]></script> <script type="application/ld+json"><![CDATA[ { "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "NewsArticle", "mainEntityOfPage": { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://google.com/article" }, "headline": "TRACK BY TRACK: Vampire Weekend's 'Father of The Bride'", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "/templates/yh2016/images/logo.svg", "height": "867", "width": "950" }, "datePublished": "2019-05-16T12:00:00", "dateModified": "2019-10-25T18:49:48", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "<i>Jenna Minnig" }, "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Young Hollywood", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://younghollywood.com/templates/yh2016/images/logo.png", "width": 107, "height": 78 } }, "description": "<div> <span style="font-size:10px;"><em>( &copy; Randy Holmes/ABC/Getty Images)</em></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <strong>Vampire Weekend</strong> is BACK and better than ever, and let me tell you, my 14-year-old self is freaking out. After a 6-year hiatus, the band released <em>Father of the Bride</em>, an 18-track double album. Even after a long break, this indie band does not disappoint with new music. While there aren&rsquo;t many groundbreaking tracks, this is an easy-going album that will be listened for years to come (at least by me anyway).</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> If you&rsquo;re still unsure about listening to <em>Father of the Bride</em>, I&rsquo;m here to break down every track on the album (and hopefully convince you to listen too, no pressure)!</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <hr class="system-pagebreak" /> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size:26px;"><strong>1. &ldquo;Hold You Now&rdquo; (feat. Danielle Haim)</strong></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> This soft opening really sets the tone for the entire record. An unexpected duet between the band&rsquo;s lead singer, <strong>Ezra Koenig</strong>, and a feature from <strong>Haim</strong>&#39;s Danielle Haim is a beautiful sound that makes me wonder why the two didn&rsquo;t collab earlier than this release. The song itself talks about the unsure love between two people. With lyrics about marriage, a choir sings the chorus beautifully. But if slow songs aren&rsquo;t your thing, there&rsquo;s so much more to come from this album, trust me!</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <em>Favorite Lyric: &ldquo;Promises of future glory don&#39;t make a case for me / I did my best and all the rest is hidden by the clouds...&rdquo;</em></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <hr class="system-pagebreak" /> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size:26px;"><strong>2. &ldquo;Harmony Hall&rdquo;</strong></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> This first single released after the 6-year hiatus made everyone go crazy. If you have been a fan for a while, you will hear the similarities between this and their song &ldquo;Finger Back&rdquo;, which came out in 2013. &ldquo;Harmony Hall&rdquo; is a simple tune with heavy lyrics revolving around politics. It&rsquo;s a broad look at the stigmas and judgements lingering within society. The chorus is where it really picks up and takes us back to the old Vampire Weekend. This was a great reintroduction to the band we know.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <em>Favorite Lyric: &ldquo;Anybody with a worried mind could never forgive the sight / Of wicked snakes inside a place you thought was dignified / I don&#39;t wanna live like this, but I don&#39;t wanna die...&rdquo;</em></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size:26px;"><strong>3. &ldquo;Bambina&rdquo;</strong></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> &ldquo;Bambina&rdquo; brings us all the way back to the 2013 album, <em>Modern Vampires of the City</em>. It&rsquo;s a classic Vampire Weekend track with upbeat instrumentals throughout. It&rsquo;s a short and sweet song, so it&rsquo;s hard to not like this one.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <em>Favorite Lyric: &ldquo;No signs of injustice / No signs, but the flames that are filling up the room...&rdquo;</em></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <hr class="system-pagebreak" /> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size:26px;"><strong>4. &ldquo;This Life&rdquo;</strong></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> EASILY my personal favorite song on the record, &ldquo;This Life&rdquo; is Vampire Weekend at their peak. It&rsquo;s happy and bright and embodies everything we know and love about the band. It&rsquo;s very obvious the band draws influence from many people on this track, as the chorus itself is almost directly taken from <strong>ILoveMakonnen</strong>&rsquo;s track, &ldquo;Tonight&rdquo;. The song itself looks at a crumbling relationship and examines just where things went wrong. However, this upbeat tune sounds like the opposite of a breakup song in my opinion.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <em>Favorite Lyric: &ldquo;And darling, our disease is the same one as the trees / Unaware that they&#39;ve been living in a forest...&rdquo;</em></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <hr class="system-pagebreak" /> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size:26px;"><strong>5. &ldquo;Big Blue&rdquo;</strong></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Another short and sweet track, &ldquo;Big Blue&rdquo; takes on a much different sound than &ldquo;Bambina&rdquo;. The song itself is just the same verse pattern repeated three times. The most confusing part, however, is that the second-half of this 2-minute song turns into a country-western sound mixed with a church choir. It&rsquo;s an interesting song to say the least, but I&rsquo;ll let you listen to figure out how you feel about this one.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <em>Favorite Lyric: &ldquo;Big blue, for once in my life, I felt close to you</em>...&rdquo;</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <hr class="system-pagebreak" /> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size:26px;"><strong>6. &ldquo;How Long&rdquo;</strong></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> This is a finger-snapping bop. I had to listen to this song a few times because the lyrics hold so much content but are sung so quickly. The title of the track describes exactly what the song discusses: how long? The rhetorical question is analyzed in different lights in the song through relationship experiences and career goals, all to wonder how long it&rsquo;s going to take to reach these happy (or not so happy) endings.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <em>Favorite Lyric: &ldquo;What&#39;s the point of being seen? / Those eyes are cruel, those eyes are mean...&rdquo;</em></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <hr class="system-pagebreak" /> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size:26px;"><strong>7. &ldquo;Unbearably White&rdquo;</strong></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Although Vampire Weekend has not outwardly stated exactly what this song means, it&rsquo;s clear that it is a very politically-inspired song focusing on privilege. On his podcast, <em>Time Crisis</em>, Ezra Koenig said it&rsquo;s important to understand what the meaning of &ldquo;white&rdquo; is in each of the stanzas. One of the best parts about Vampire Weekend is that they can slide these hard political messages into such easy-going songs.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <em>Favorite Lyric: &ldquo;To learn what kept us together, darling / Is what kept us alive...&rdquo;</em></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <hr class="system-pagebreak" /> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size:26px;"><strong>8. &ldquo;Rich Man&rdquo;</strong></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Once again, the band slides a political message into a light-hearted song about love. The song itself is told from the point of view of a rich man talking about how his money doesn&rsquo;t matter as long as he is with his love. It sends the message that not all rich people have their minds and intentions in a cruel place.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <em>Favorite Lyric: &ldquo;And these millions of gold coins don&#39;t gleam when they&rsquo;re spent / You&rsquo;re left with none...&rdquo;</em></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <hr class="system-pagebreak" /> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size:26px;"><strong>9. &ldquo;Married in a Gold Rush&rdquo; (feat. Danielle Haim)</strong></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The second duet between Koenig and Haim is just as great as the first one. This track narrates the life of a couple who feels the pressure from society to have a &ldquo;perfect relationship&rdquo;. The two sing back and forth describing how they feel about their own marriage.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <em>Favorite Lyric: &ldquo;There&#39;s two seats on the midnight train / The gold won&#39;t weigh us down...&rdquo;</em></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <hr class="system-pagebreak" /> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size:26px;"><strong>10. &ldquo;My Mistake&rdquo;</strong></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> If you were waiting for another slow and sultry song, we&rsquo;ve reached it. This is a vague song that leaves a lot of its meaning up to the listener&rsquo;s imagination. I personally take this as a song about the personal fault we feel in trusting disloyal people.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <em>Favorite Lyric: &ldquo;Hoping for kindness / Was my greatest mistake...&rdquo;</em></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <hr class="system-pagebreak" /> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size:26px;"><strong>11. &ldquo;Sympathy&rdquo;</strong></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Remember when I said &ldquo;Big Blue&rdquo; had some country-western influences? &ldquo;Sympathy&rdquo; definitely has some Spanish-sounding influences and I am here for it. The pace of the instrumentals gives the song a feeling of urgency that the message must be important. It&rsquo;s a look at religious sympathy and what that means for specific religions.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <em>Favorite Lyric: &ldquo;Desperate for an enemy but too afraid to kill...&rdquo;</em></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <hr class="system-pagebreak" /> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size:26px;"><strong>12. &ldquo;Sunflower&rdquo; (feat. Steve Lacy)</strong></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> &ldquo;Sunflower&rdquo; is another single that was released months before the record. From the first listen, I knew this was a Summer song that I would be listening to on repeat. I wasn&rsquo;t expecting Steve Lacy to be a feature on a Vampire Weekend song, but I certainly wasn&rsquo;t mad about it. To put the icing on the cake, <strong>Jonah Hill</strong> directed the music video for this track!</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <em>Favorite Lyric: &ldquo;No power can compel me / Back into the daylight / Let that evil wait...&rdquo;</em></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <hr class="system-pagebreak" /> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size:26px;"><strong>13. &ldquo;Flower Moon&rdquo; (feat. Steve Lacy)</strong></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Yet another feature from Steve Lacy, &ldquo;Flower Moon&rdquo; starts slow but picks up swiftly. I&rsquo;d be lying if I said I wasn&rsquo;t tapping my foot and bobbing my head while listening to this track. The narrator describes the dread in another flower moon. While it&rsquo;s not clear in the song exactly what a flower moon is, it could signify falling in love.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <em>Favorite Lyric: &ldquo;If the sun don&#39;t make things right / Then it&#39;s gonna take a year...&rdquo;</em></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <hr class="system-pagebreak" /> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size:26px;"><strong>14. &ldquo;2021&rdquo;</strong></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> This entire interlude is the looping of a synth line from <strong>Haruomi Hosono</strong>, a famous musician from Japan. It&rsquo;s short but it describes the passing of time and it sounds like the band&rsquo;s reflection on if they will still be relevant two years from now.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <em>Favorite Lyric: &ldquo;2021, will you think about me? / I could wait a year, but I shouldn&#39;t wait three...&rdquo;</em></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <hr class="system-pagebreak" /> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size:26px;"><strong>15. &ldquo;We Belong Together&rdquo; (feat. Danielle Haim)</strong></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> This song is probably the sweetest song Vampire Weekend has ever released. The track itself is composed of lyrics describing how perfect the couple is for each other. (If you&rsquo;re in a relationship, try sending your S.O. lyrics from this song and see if they pick up on it, or just think it&rsquo;s insanely adorable.)</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <em>Favorite Lyric: &ldquo;Hallelujah, you&#39;re still mine / All I did was waste your time / If there&#39;s not some grand design / How&#39;d this pair of stars align?&rdquo;</em></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <hr class="system-pagebreak" /> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size:26px;"><strong>16. &ldquo;Stranger&rdquo;</strong></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Another song with a simple meaning, &ldquo;Stranger&rdquo; is about hearing everything going on but not being involved. It&rsquo;s about wanting to know what&rsquo;s going on from the next room; being a stranger in your own house.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <em>Favorite Lyric: &ldquo;But you got the heat on, kettle screaming / Don&#39;t need to freeze anymore...&rdquo;</em></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <hr class="system-pagebreak" /> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size:26px;"><strong>17. &ldquo;Spring Snow&rdquo;</strong></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> If the title wasn&rsquo;t clear enough, this is another political track that looks at climate change and how it&rsquo;s affecting our lives. The story within the song refers to a flight being delayed due to snow in the Spring. Koenig sings, &ldquo;The seasons we had don&rsquo;t mean anything&rdquo; because all the seasons feel like one extreme or the other.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <em>Favorite Lyric: &ldquo;The seasons we had / Don&#39;t mean anything...&rdquo;</em></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <hr class="system-pagebreak" /> </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size:26px;"><strong>18. &ldquo;Jerusalem, New York, Berlin&rdquo;</strong></span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> After listening to this record, it became very clear how important Koenig&rsquo;s Jewish identity is to him. This song in particular ties in 3 cities that are important to both himself and his religion. It&rsquo;s a soft ballad, the perfect song to close such a beautiful album.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <em>Favorite Lyric: &ldquo;O, wicked world / Just think what could have been / Jerusalem, New York, Berlin...&rdquo;</em></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> I couldn&rsquo;t have asked for a better return from Vampire Weekend and I hope you guys agree. Here&rsquo;s to hoping they continue making music (and don&rsquo;t take another 6-year hiatus)!</div>" } ]]></script> <a href="https://younghollywood.com/scene/track-by-track-vampire-weekend-s-father-of-the-bride.html?limitstart=9&ajax=1&ajax=1" class="ai-next">Next</a>