It’s been a minute.
A long one. In the five years since Father of the Bride left us with its sprawling, sunny collaborations, the world changed, and so did the silence from one of indie music’s most important bands. You started to wonder. Was that it? Then, the whispers started. A new photo. A cryptic teaser on their official website. And then, bam. An announcement. Vampire Weekend was back. And they weren’t just back, they were reborn in the gritty, chaotic, and beautiful noise of their new album, Only God Was Above Us. This isn’t just a comeback; it’s a statement.
A New Sound for a New Era: The 2024 Album
Let’s be clear. This is the album many of us have been waiting for since 2013. If Father of the Bride was a bright, Californian detour, then Only God Was Above Us is a full-speed dive back into the frantic, intellectual, and dissonant heart of New York City. Released in April 2024, their fourth official studio album feels like the first time in a long time we’re hearing the band—Ezra Koenig, Chris Baio, and Chris Tomson—as a singular, focused unit. This is the sound of a band that has nothing left to prove but everything to say. It’s the record they’ve been hinting at their whole career. One for the books.
Deconstructing “Only God Was Above Us”: A Track-by-Track Feel
The first time you listen, it’s a lot. The album is dense, layered with distortion, sudden piano flourishes, and a kind of beautiful tension. It’s a far cry from the clean, preppy pop of their first record, but the DNA is unmistakably there. This is what Vampire Weekend sounds like after living a little.
The Opening Statements: “Capricorn” and “Gen-X Cops”
The one-two punch that opens the album tells you everything. “Capricorn” starts with a simple, almost melancholy piano line before a wave of fuzzy, distorted guitar crashes over it. It’s startling. It’s also brilliant. Ezra’s voice cuts through, questioning time and destiny. It’s a perfect first step into this new world. Then “Gen-X Cops” kicks the door down, a blast of pure New York rock that feels like it could have been on an early Strokes album. It’s the band at their rawest, a reminder that before the clever wordplay, they were just a damn good rock band. These two tracks aren’t just singles; they’re a thesis for the whole project.
From “Classical” to “Mary Boone”: The Album’s Rich Middle
The album doesn’t let up. “Classical” struts in with a driving bassline and explodes into a chaotic orchestral swarm, questioning what becomes history and what just gets old. It’s maybe the best synthesis of their old intellectualism and new raw power. The middle of the record is a journey through different textures and ideas, from the intricate, almost dizzying piano runs to moments of quiet reflection. “Mary Boone,” named after the infamous art dealer, feels like a walk through a haunted gallery, a story of ambition and a fall from grace that feels deeply tied to the city’s unforgiving nature. The sound is complex, but the feeling is direct.
The Grand Finale: “Hope”
And then there’s “Hope.” An eight-minute closing track could be self-indulgent. Here, it feels necessary. The song is a slow-building epic that confronts betrayal and resignation head-on with a simple, devastatingly repeated line: “I hope you let it go.” It’s the sound of a band that has been through it—the lineup changes, the weight of expectations, the passage of time—and come out the other side, not unscathed, but wiser. It’s a breathtaking end to a phenomenal album.
Vampire Weekend Live: On the Road in 2025
This new music was made to be played live. The “Only God Was Above Us” tour is already becoming legendary. They kicked it off with a now-famous show in Austin, Texas, playing through a total solar eclipse. Talk about an opening statement. On stage, the new songs are explosive, and the old hits are given a new, ferocious energy. The set list is a perfect mix of past and present. One minute the crowd is screaming along to “A-Punk,” and the next they’re lost in the complex beauty of a new track. This isn’t just a band playing their songs; it’s a full-blown musical event. With dates across the USA and a stop at Japan’s iconic Fuji Rock Festival, getting a ticket feels less like an option and more like a necessity for any real music fan this year. The energy is just different this time. They feel unstoppable.
More Than Just a New Album: The Enduring Legacy
It’s easy to get lost in the excitement of the new, but Only God Was Above Us is so powerful because of the journey it took to get here.
The Songs That Defined Them: From “A-Punk” to “Harmony Hall”
You can’t talk about Vampire Weekend without talking about the hits. The frantic energy of “A-Punk.” The grammatical cheek of “Oxford Comma.” The summery rush of “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” or the mournful beauty of “Diane Young.” For a long time, these songs defined them. Even the sun-drenched singalongs of “Harmony Hall” on their last album felt like a specific, polished version of the band. The old music is still incredible, but what makes the 2024 sound so special is that it feels like it’s in conversation with those older selves, acknowledging them before tearing the whole thing down to build something new and more honest.
The Band Today: Who is Vampire Weekend in 2024?
Following the departure of Rostam Batmanglij, there were questions. Father of the Bride felt more like an Ezra Koenig project with friends. This album is different. It’s the first one truly conceived and executed by the core trio. And it sounds like it. There’s a tightness, a cohesion, that feels new. This is the sound of three musicians locked in, a real band, pushing each other to the limit. This is who Vampire Weekend is now.
Frequently Asked Questions about Vampire Weekend
- Is Vampire Weekend still a band? Yes, absolutely. They’re back, touring, and just released what might be their best and most important album in April 2024.
- What is the new Vampire Weekend album called? It’s called “Only God Was Above Us.” Stop what you’re doing and go listen to it.
- What are Vampire Weekend’s biggest hits? Their classic, most well-known songs include “A-Punk,” “Oxford Comma,” “Harmony Hall,” “Diane Young,” and “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa.”