I Hope Your Ears Bleed » vampire weekend

Vampire Weekend Avoids Sophomore Slump

Sam — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:00:38 +0000

Everybody’s favorite east coast Jewish-American afro-pop quartet, Vampire Weekend, accomplishes a few things – perhaps more than they might have aspired – with Contra, their second full-length album. After keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij worked out some music management kinks last summer with his collaborative pool-party-mix triumph (Discovery – LP), Vampire Weekend’s sound as a full ensemble hits the ears of longtime fans as something abnormally fresh and worthy of stationary break-dancing. But Contra caters to the new listeners seeking a decent place to start too. With tracks like “Cousins” and “Holiday,” novices to the witty foursome can witness VW ever-so-subtly hark back to the catchy lineup of overly repetitive riffs and beats that was their self-titled debut. Fortunately for defenders of independent music, this band’s sound has shifted to the point of deserving a dignified double take.

Shamelessly depicting such nuisances as melodramatic Nietzsche-crazed youths in “Giving Up The Gun” and the paradoxes of modern college students psyche in “California English”, lead singer Ezra Koenig coolly sidesteps the hallowed sophomore slump curse as any forward-thinking songwriter would. Koenig relishes in his past follies, makes them intimate and personal – only now can he mock and poke fun without losing self-worth. The occasional voice cracks of “Run” and the boyish shrieks and swoons of “White Sky” add to the comforting idea that growing up is not the same as accepting boredom and dull ennui.

Rostam Batmanglij seems nonplussed with his band-mate’s new direction and certainly has plans of his own concerning track arrangement, instrument selection, and even unexpected cross-genre influences (“Diplomat’s Son” features an M.I.A. sample that cleverly fills the soundscape between Koenig’s verses). Much like a musical Kurt Vonnegut, Batmanglij boldly unveils new aspects of his creative style without reinventing his art to the point of disassociation. He defiantly recommences the old signature marimba base beats that earned the band much negative feedback from the critical “authorities” of the day; yet display VW’s deep respect for some of the world’s most sincere music – West African percussion.

Despite being dubbed the “whitest band” two years ago (by none other than the founder of Stuff White People Like, Christian Lander), Vampire Weekend lashes back after a brief hiatus of recharging and realignment with Contra, a track list more like the intersection of experience and fun than the straight-as-an-arrow highway that forms most sophomore efforts. Who needs music industry guidelines anyway?

California English – Vampire W…

Vampire Weekend Announce New Record, Contra

Nathan — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 23:53:50 +0000

Vampire Weekend has recently disclosed some details about their forthcoming album, Contra. You may have actually seen this preppy blonde photo floating around the blogosphere as of late, not knowing what it was. Or not. Either way, it will be the cover art for the new record which will be released on Jan. 12th through XL. Along with the cover art, the band has also released the tracklist. The one song on there that might actually mean something to any of you would “White Sky”, which they first unveiled live on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Although it according to what frontman Ezra Koenig told Entertainment Weekly, it might sound quite a bit different. “The recorded version is very different from how we played it on Fallon,” said Koenig. “The real version is more like how we’ve been playing it live. There’s a lot of synth sounds, and it’s a little more pumped up.” No music has been shared with us yet, but I’ll fill you in once I get the chance to hear it. Here is the tracklist and a couple of Canadian tour dates coming up.

Contra Tracklist

1. Horchata
2. White Sky
3. Holiday
4. California English
5. Taxi Cab
6. Run
7. Cousins
8. Giving Up the Gun
9. Diplomat’s Son
10. I Think Ur A Contra

October Canadian Dates

10-06 Montreal, Quebec – Le National
10-08 Toronto, Ontario – Horseshoe Tavern

Vampire Weekend + Ra Ra Riot = Discovery

Nathan — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:07:04 +0000

Wes Miles, the lead singer for Ra Ra Riot, and Rostam Batmanglij, the keyboardist for Vampire Weekend, have teamed up to form an indie pop super group called Discovery. Their debut album, LP, is set to hit stores July 7th. For a sample of what’s come check out their first single, “Orange Shirt.” It sounds more like something you’d hear hear out to the club w/ all your frat buddies, but with a little more class, than something you would hear coming out of the indie kid’s basement. I’m diggin it, but I’d love to hear what you guys think. Are you excited to hear the rest of it, or do you wish they had spent this time working on the next Vampire Weekend and Ra Ra Riot albums.

LP tracklist

1. Orange Shirt

2. Osaka Loop Line

3. Can You Discover?

4. I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend (featuring Angel Deradoorian)

5. So Insane

6. Swing Tree

7. Carby (featuring Ezra Koenig)

8. I Want You Back

9. It’s Not My Fault (It’s My Fault)

10. Slang Tang

Lessons From Late Night

Alex — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 23:41:16 +0000

Hello I Hope Your Ears Bleed world! My name is Alex “Ceach” McEachin and I have been blessed to begin a new series entitled “Lessons from Late Night” in which I will review notable performances that take place on the many late night shows.

In this inaugural post I would like to draw attention to the newest late night show, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. I have begun following his show closely after taking over for the legendary Conan O’Brien. I have honestly been pretty impressed with how well he has assumed this new role. I love how he has gone to great lengths to become relevant by embracing all of the new cultural and technological norms such as Twitter and Facebook (although it seems the show tries too hard at times). And I am especially impressed with the musical guests he has been able to line up thus far. The debut show, that aired March 5, 2009, included the legendary artist Van Morrison in which he played “Sweet Thing.” The two performances I would like to highlight are Glen Hansard of The Frames performing a cover of “Hair Shirt” by R.E.M. on March 12, 2009; a very intimate performance of a man and his Mandolin. The second is Vampire Weekend on March 18, 2009 debuting a brand new song, “White Sky.” This song will be included on their new album that will hopefully be released this coming fall. I bring attention to each of these notable performances so that you may venture over to hulu.com and watch them for yourselves.

We have embedded the March 18th episode so that you can watch the Vampire Weekend performance right here, right now. This is truly one of the best late night performances I have ever seen. For those of you who have been living underground for the past year and have yet to hear their debut album, you must go out and get it immediately. You won’t be disappointed. Unfortunately we couldn’t find a video with just their performance, so what you have here is the entire episode. But if you want to jump straight to Vampire Weekend’s performance, just click on the second to last white dot at the bottom of the video. Unfortunately the Van Morrison performance is no longer available, but if you head over to hulu.com, you can find the Glen Hansard performance and many more. I hope they bring you as much joy as they brought to me. I hope your ears bleed and maybe even your eyes a little with these amazing performances. More to come soon.

Vampire Weekend – White Sky

Van Morrison – Sweet Thing

Nathan’s Top Albums of 2008

Nathan — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 00:28:11 +0000

To be quite honest, I am a little disappointed with music this year. It was rather difficult for me to come up with my top 10 again this year, not because there were just tons of great albums to choose from, but that there were tons of mediocre albums to choose from. There were just very few albums that I fell in love with, from beginning to end, this year. So here are the ones that stuck out to me the most, and don’t get me wrong there are some great ones in this list. I just think that the music business has seen and will see better years.

10 KaiserCartel – March Forth

One of the first bands I discovered via I Hope Your Ears Bleed mailbox that didn’t suck. In fact they didn’t suck so much that they made this list. They are a cheery pop duo that kept me whistling all year with this fantastic debut. If you are a Mates of State fan check out this album for a double dose of pop candy goodness. But don’t misunderstand that phrase and think that this album lacks substance or doesn’t leave you satisfied. Unlike most “pop candy” these guys have created something that will last. I will be enjoying this album for a long time to come.

KaiserCartel – Oh No

09 She & Him – Volume One

She & Him is made up of the gorgeous and very likeable actress, Zooey Deschanel and the him part is indie folk artist M. Ward. With her voice and song-writing combined with his gorgeous arrangements you get one of the most enjoyable and accessible records of the year. I don’t know how anyone could not like this album at least a little bit. Which might be why it ended up as Paste’s favorite album of the year. It has a little something for everyone.

She & Him – Sentimental Heart

08 Anathallo – Canopy Glow

These guys are one of the most dynamic groups around. The orchestration on each song is very complex and they utilizes a wide variety of instruments, including horns, guitars, drums, piano, bells, strings, and the list could go on. But what makes them so unique, and why love them so much is they also love to use tons of unconventional objects like chains, velcro strips, stomp boxes, pipes and even their own hands. Plus they have incredible voices that they utilize as yet another instrument with great harmonies throughout the album. Even with its late November release it has become one of the most played records of the year for me. Who knows how high it might have climbed the list had it been released earlier.

Anathallo – The River

07 The Silent Years – The Globe
This album provided for me not just the best song of the year, but just an all-around great rock album. If that’s what you want to call it. I have a hard time describing this album since it seems jump genres from song to song. But it does so gracefully. It isn’t disjointed at all. It seems like their drummer somehow seems to carry you safely from song to song. Not to mention the song-writing and vocals of Josh Epstein are impeccable. This is another album that utilizes a plethora of instruments. But I think my favorite thing about the album is the way they use silence as an instrument in this stand-out track from their great sophomore effort.

The Silent Years – Black Hole

06 Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend

While I think that this band is one of the more overrated bands out there, I couldn’t help but include it in this list. I probably listened to this album more than any other this past year. It is incredibly fun and very different than anything else that’s being played these days. Not to mention their song writing is very clever. There are many standout tracks on this album, and if somehow you made it through 2008 without hearing these guys you have to give this album a listen. I absolutely love the way the strings open this stellar track. It takes me back a couple centuries to a time when you still had to squeeze oranges to get fresh orange juice, yet you were still somehow more sophisticated than today.

Vampire Weekend – M79

05 MGMT – Oracular Spectacular

This album started with just two freshmen art students playing pretend that they were indie pop stars. They started off just playing around with some synthesizers and pre-recorded vocals playing shows and just having some fun. Before they new it they had a long-term deal with Columbia Records and were the opening act for Of Montreal. Still not able to believe their good fortune, when asked who they’d like to have produce their record, they responded with Prince, Nigel Godrich, Barack Obama, and “not Sheryl Crow.” Fortunately for us, they were hooked up with Flaming Lips collaborator, Dave Fridmann, who helped them create one of the best psychadelic indie-pop albums around.

MGMT – Kids

04 Mates of State – Re-Arrange Us

So if you haven’t noticed, I’m a big fan of catchy sing-a-long pop. That is so long as it doesn’t completely suck. Like this fantastically addictive, emotionally charged, hook-laden pop masterpiece. While they have injected a little more piano than in the past, they haven’t strayed too far from their roots. Hammel’s slick and drumbeats still drive the entire album, and Gardner’s vocals are better than ever. It’s soft and loud, sweet and sour, cheerful and melancholy. It’s a fully realized album that will appeal to indie snobs and ignorant radio listeners alike. So whichever you are, go out and buy this album today.

Mates of State – The Re-Arranger

03 Noah and the Whale – Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down

Here is the fifth debut album to grace my top ten list (it’s not the last). Yes I am a sucker for folk-rock bands that use lots of strings and horns throughout their songs. But it is Charlie Fink’s songwriting that boosted this mediocre debut into the top of my list. It’s hopeful songs like “Give a Little Love” and its more melancholy successor “Second Lover” that make this album so great. And who isn’t put in a better mood when they hear “5 Years Time” pouring through the tv set?

Noah and the Whale – Second Lover

02 Conor Oberst – Conor Oberst

This is one of the last album’s I expected to make my list this year. But I have not been able to stop listening ever since I saw him live back in September. Just think of a happy and country version of Bright Eyes. I am blown away at how well Conor is able to do southern rock. Make no mistake though, this is not a solo album in the least. This record would be nothing without the Mystic Valley Band. Let’s hope that he doesn’t just kick them to the curb and that these guys have only just begun their musical journey together.

Conor Oberst – Get Well Cards

01 Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago

While this list was difficult for me make, choosing who belonged on top was not. Justin Vernon isolated himself in a remote cabin in Wisconsin just looking to get away and take a break. And he walked out with the best album of the year. There was a tiny bit added upon his return in the studio (horns, backing vocals, drums), but the majority of the album is just Vernon and his hauntingly enchanting voice.

Bon Iver – Lump Sum

Well I hope you enjoyed the list and found at least one new album to out and purchase. And stay tuned for the albums we’re most excited about for 2009. Here’s to another great year of music. Huzzah!

Brady’s Top Ten Records of 2008

Brady — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 12:07:08 +0000

10. Real Emotional Trash – Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks

Always just beneath the iridescent surface of Pavement’s bratty garage jingles and irreverent wordplay lay the six-string noodlings of Stephen Malkmus. Real Emotional Trash finds him embracing and improving upon the classic rock jams of his second solo effort, 2003′s lukewarm “Pig Lib”. But what’s different? Janet Weiss, for one; Pavement’s drummer Steve West was always splendidly inadequate, which was cool because it fit with that band’s aesthetic. But on the forward-leaning “Hopscotch Willie” and the endless crescendo that is the title track, Weiss’ nimble feel changes are all that keep this record from formlessness. Messy and gratifying, like Gary Busey in his prime.

Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks – Out of Reaches

9. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend

I bought this record in the spring, during a mission trip to Trinidad. I’ll always associate its Afropop guitar tones with my weeklong stay in that country, which is fitting because Vampire Weekend is music for tourists. Ivy-leaguers who borrow musical motifs from the poor and sing of the rich, these dapper young men are nothing if not brave. But their audacity pays off with this brief set of 10 very direct, hummable songs. Cue countless MTV appearances and thousands (but probably hundreds) of young girls screaming, “I LOVE THE UNFORTUNATELY-NAMED EZRA KOENIG” at the baby-faced lead singer, and you’ve got a real pop phenomenon on your hands.

Vampire Weekend – A-Punk

8. Esau Mwamwaya and Radioclit are The Very Best – The Very Best

Speaking of Vampire Weekend, 2008 was the year of the “We Are the World” sing-along, where indie freshness was all about tearing down cultural boundaries and celebrating unity. No record of quasi-covers embodied this exciting trend more than Esau Mwamwaya and Radioclit are The Very Best, which found Malawi/London singer Mwamwaya delivering on the promise of his smiling rendition of “Paper Planes”. This is openly joyous music, drawing from too many influences to comprehend (my favorite is a cover of the Beatles’ “Birthday”). It’s an audio-cultural epicenter and it’s readily accessible…Download for FREE here.

The Very Best (Esau Mwamwaya & Radioclit) – Birthday

7. Top Ranking – Santogold/Diplo

Let’s get it out of the way. She’s no M.I.A. Yes, the best moment of this release is the M.I.A.-centered “Get It Up”. But Santogold and Diplo do their best to decorate and reinvent the eccentric pop of her self-titled debut while steering away from those comparisons. The result is a surreal and fluid summer mix tape that hops from era to genre to sub-genre successfully for well over an hour. Top Ranking constructs a towering mass of dub- inflected grooves that flow seamlessly into each other before finding peace in the soaring “Icarus”. Let this curb your appetite until the next “Arular”.

Santogold & Diplo – Get It Up

6. The Renaissance – Q-Tip

Headline: Godfather and spiritual guru of hip-hop returns after nearly a decade of absence, STILL puts others MC’s to shame. We all miss A Tribe Called Quest (or at least we all should), and in 2008, The Renaissance is as close as it gets to the jazzy beats and sincere rhymes of Q-Tip’s former group. Don’t be disappointed though, he’s the same as before, except that now he croons about love as much as he raps about it. The album’s pacing arcs so nicely, the drum machines fizzle in perfect time and the album even dropped on the day that our first black president was elected. Besides, “Gettin’ Up” is one the best songs of the year.

Q-Tip – Gettin’ Up

5. Feed the Animals – Girl Talk

This summer, Greg Gillis released his new album of mash-ups in the same manner in which Radiohead released In Rainbows, half a year earlier. Users could download the entire album for free, if they so chose, through the artist’s website. This “pay-what-you-want” system is especially appropriate for Girl Talk, whose very essence is the celebration of all things popular. When I attended a Girl Talk show in late June, at the onset of his Feed the Animals tour, the music’s appeal to the general public was undeniable; this is definitely dance music, albeit dance music with a sardonic twinkle in its eye. You may laugh when Gillis slyly combines Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone” with Nine Inch Nails’ “Wish,” but chances are that you’ll dance too. Download for FREE here.

4. New Amerykah: Part One (4th World War) – Erykah Badu

“Mama hopped up on cocaine, Daddy on spaceships with no brain,” murmurs Badu on “The Cell,” and it’s a typical example of the singer’s knack at refracting tragedy through the bizarre. As dense and amoebic as Badu’s hair on “Amerykah”‘s front cover, the album is more of a mood piece than a collection of singular entities. One exception is the Madlib-produced “The Healer,” a floating black hole of a song that envelops R&B, hip-hop, and spoken word, spitting out something new altogether. It’s hypnotic in its manipulation of time and theme, and the song is just the first peak of an album that feels like one long high.

Erykah Badu – The Healer

3. Mountain Tan Commercials – Arch M

I stumbled across Arch M while surfing random music blogs this summer. I know next to nothing about Corey Reid, the hands and heart behind Mountain Tan Commercials, except that he has the concept of distortion down to an absolute art. This mysterious cassette release, lasting only a few tics over nine minutes, is only a sampler for the forthcoming “Moon-Tan,” but if the strung out euphoria of these songs is any indicator of artistic intent, it’s time to get your panties all in a bunch. Take a walk with Mountain Tan Commercials and its dreamy, dilapidated pop charm will win you over before the second listen. Download for FREE here.

2. Water Curses EP – Animal Collective

Call me bombastic, but the writing team that serves as the core of Animal Collective, Dave Portner (Avey Tare) and Noah Lennox (Panda Bear), is the next Lennon and McCartney. Portner is the enigmatic, tortured “artist” and Lennox, no less creative, loves him a sugary pop tune. Portner sings lead on each of these songs, seemingly finding some peace after the shouted insecurities of “Strawberry Jam”. Water Curses consists of three tunes recorded during those 2007 sessions and a fourth that might as well have been. It certainly doesn’t feel patched together, though; the songs trickle and gurgle into each other, cascading down from the jubilant title track into the slowly melting ice of “Seal Eyeing”. Animal Collective is making music that sounds like nothing else, and this contemplative EP is a fine place to start for the unacquainted.

Animal Collective – Water Curses

1. Los Angeles – Flying Lotus

The Warp label’s newest poster boy, Flying Lotus (aka Steven Ellison), reminds me so much of labelmates Boards of Canada. Los Angeles shares the same throbbing, hypnotic break-beats of that group’s seminal work; both artists use aching, inferior sounds to construct dystopian fantasies. But where BoC is obsessed with recreating/re-imagining childhood, Ellison’s music inspects the grime of adult city life. Ellison also works from a much more diverse palette; he is the great-nephew of the late Alice Coltrane. By exploring the capacity of jazz’s rhythmical accents, he continues to build upon the rich history of African-American music. Ellison’s heritage (and his exhaustive crate-digging) pay off in dividends; there are signs of Brazilian, Indian, and hip-hop influence plastered all over this album’s gritty alleyways. Feel free to blast it from your Hummer or whatever, but PLEASE listen to Los Angeles with a decent pair of headphones before you die. It’s dark, gelatinous fun and it’s the best record of 2008.

Flying Lotus – Beginners Falafel

It Feels So Unnatural, Peter Gabriel Agrees

Nathan — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 18:19:10 +0000

That’s right. Peter Gabriel, along with some help from Hot Chip, has covered Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa. I suppose Peter Gabriel was so inspired by the shout out that received in the original song from the debut by the highly acclaimed but slightly overrated Vampire Weekend. I really enjoy their take on it, and I think that Gabriel’s voice sounds great matched up with this fun afro-beat indie pop music. This is easily one of my favorite covers of the year. I love that even beyond all of the philanthropic events that he is constantly working on along with touring and writing new songs that at his age he still finds time to do little projects like this. Enjoy this great cover and see how he handles this “so unnatural” tune.

Hot Chip & Peter Gabriel – Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa

Remix Wednesday: Walcott [Insane Mix]

Cody — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:07:58 +0000

So each Wednesday, I’ve been bringing remixes that inspire and almost unleash an entirely different song; a song beneath the song. Well this isn’t one of those remixes. This remix is plainly there just to make an other wise normal song into a very very upbeat song.

Vampire Weekend launched this album earlier this year, and they dropped the Insane Mix on a cd single for their song Oxford Comma. It’s a playful song, and I love it.

Vampire Weekend – Walcott [Insane Remix] (removed 2/13/09)

Let thine ears bleedeth. Ω