VAMPIRE WEEKEND
âCLASSICALâ
NEW TRACK & VIDEO AVAILABLE NOW
Only God Was Above Us
Out April 5 via Columbia Records
âVampire Weekend channels a generationâs exhaustion, disillusionment and overloadâ¦layers stately chamber-pop with heaving, squealing noise, then eases toward folky resignation.â â The New York Times
âTheyâre finally here: the first new Vampire Weekend songs in five years… Vampire Weekend are ready to give you want you wanted. âCapricornâ and its counterpart âGen X Copsâ sound like the bandâs discography collapsing in on itselfâ¦Welcome back.â â Stereogum
âThis is 2014 Vampire Weekend all grunged up and stomping back into the spotlight with a vengeance” â Nylon
ââCapricornâ is lush and beautiful, as so many Vampire Weekend ballads are. But itâs shot through with a devastatingly fatalist point of view, its no-hope attitude conveyed gracefully and brutally.” â Paper
âVampire Weekendâs latest offerings are defined by bold stylistic decisions forged from five years of deliberate transformation. The pairing of âCapricornâ and âGen-X Copsâ reflects a balance in the bandâs new sonic and lyrical perspectives, between unflinching, rough-edged doomsaying and inextinguishable hope.” â Relix
“Both sound distinctly like Vampire Weekend but also distinctly different than any of the bandâs previous albums⦠Itâs a clever, creative step forward from a band whoâs still yet to miss.” â Brooklyn Vegan
âFollowing up on last weekâs seismic announcement of its fifth studio album, Vampire Weekend made waves again today with the release of âCapricornâ and âGen-X Copsâ… These tracks set the tone for Only God Was Above Us, pairing the indie rock vanguardâs trademark bookish sentimentality with scathing newfound grit.” â JamBase
âThe wistful âCapricornâ and the frenetic âGen-X Copsâ recall the playful experimentation of the bandâs 2013 classic Modern Vampires of the City, although Ezra Koenigâs gentle delivery always bridges the gap between different factions of Vampire Weekend fans.” â Billboard
“{âGen-X Copsâ] has the familiar tools of a Vampire Weekend song, yet its scattered arrangement of sputtering distortion and tiptoe piano has an off-ness that acts as a window into their fifth album, Only God Was Above Us.” â Pitchfork
âItâs a return to form, from the future.” â We All Want Someone To Shout For
Vampire Weekend unveils a third dimension of its eagerly awaited new album with âClassical,â the latest advance offering from Only God Was Above Us, out April 5th via Columbia Records. Written by Ezra Koenig, produced by Ariel Rechtshaid and Koenig and featuring an orchestral arrangement by Will Canzoneri, Koenig and Rechtshaid, âClassicalâ is Vampire Weekend at its most⦠well⦠classic: Gorgeous, uplifting melodies that belie a twinge of lyrical cynicism, punctuated by saxophonist Henry Solomon, whose frenetic and inventive phrasings trade off with Koenigâs nimble piano work.
The song is accompanied by a brand new video directed by longtime creative director Nick Harwood and features Vampire Weekend performing along with Ariel Rechtshaid, and Ray Suen, with very special guest Josh Goldsmith: the bandâs drum tech who clearly missed his calling.
Watch âClassicalâ here
âClassical” follows recently released Only God Was Above Us âGen-X Copsâ and âCapricorn,â one or both of which featured on playlists and “best songs of the weekâ round-ups by The New York Times, Stereogum, Uproxx, Paper, Nylon, Billboard, Brooklyn Vegan, Entertainment Tonight, Paste, and many othersâ¦
Only God Was Above Us is Vampire Weekendâs fifth album and first since 2019âs Best Alternative Album GRAMMY winner Father of the Bride, which was certified Gold just this weekâjoining its predecessors Modern Vampires of the City (Gold), Contra (Gold), and Vampire Weekend (Platinum) in RIAA certification.
Preorder is available here
Meanwhile the VW core of Koenig, Chris Baio and Chris Tomson â along with touring members Will Canzoneri, Garrett Ray, Colin Killalea and Ray Suen â are deep in rehearsals and ready to kick off their epic North American tour on April 8th in Austin under an eclipsed sky. Join Koenig, Baio and Tomson for a series of fireside chats via their brand new podcast, Vampire Campfire. Watch here or listen wherever you get your podcasts.
VAMPIRE WEEKEND
Only God Was Above Us
Tour 2024
Mon Apr 08 â Austin, TX â Moody Amphitheater (Solar Eclipse)
Sat April 27 â New Orleans, LA â New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
Fri May 10 â Salt Lake City, UT â Kilby Block Party
Thu May 30 â Barcelona, Espana â Primavera Sound
Thu Jun 06 â Houston, TX â 713 Music Hall
Fri Jun 07 â Irving, TX â The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
Sun Jun 09 â Phoenix, AZ â Arizona Financial Theatre
Mon Jun 10 â San Diego, CA â Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre
Wed Jun 12 â Los Angeles, CA â Hollywood Bowl
Sat Jun 15 â Berkeley, CA â The Greek Theatre at U.C. Berkeley
Sun Jun 16 â Berkeley, CA â The Greek Theatre at U.C. Berkeley (Matinee Show)
Tue Jun 18 â Burnaby, BC â Deer Lake Park
Wed Jun 19 â Bend, OR â Hayden Homes Amphitheater
Thu Jun 20 â Seattle, WA â Climate Pledge Arena
Sat Jun 22 â Bonner, MT â KettleHouse Amphitheater
Sun Jun 23 â Bonner, MT â KettleHouse Amphitheater (Matinee Show)
Fri Jul 19 â Morrison, CO â Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Sat Jul 20 â Dillon, CO â Dillon Amphitheater
Mon Jul 22 â Kansas City, MO â Starlight Theatre
Tue Jul 23 â Lincoln, NE â Pinewood Bowl Theater
Thu Jul 25 â Maryland Heights, MO â Saint Louis Music Park
Fri Jul 26 â Chicago, IL â Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
Sat Jul 27 â Chicago, IL â Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
Tue Jul 30 â Minneapolis, MN â The Armory
Wed Jul 31 â Minneapolis, MN â The Armory
Thu Aug 01 â Milwaukee, WI â BMO Pavilion
Sat Aug 03 â St. Charles, IA â Hinterland
Thu Sep 19 â Cuyahoga Falls, OH â Blossom Music Center
Fri Sep 20 â Cincinnati, OH â The ICON Festival Stage at Smale Park
Sat Sep 21 â Indianapolis, IN â Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park
Mon Sep 23 â Rochester Hills, MI â Meadow Brook Amphitheatre
Tue Sep 24 â Toronto, ON â Budweiser Stage
Wed Sep 25 â Laval, QC â Place Bell
Fri Sep 27 â Boston, MA â TD Garden
Sat Sep 28 â Philadelphia, PA â TD Pavilion at The Mann
Mon Sep 30 â Washington, DC â The Anthem
Tue Oct 01 â Washington, DC â The Anthem
Wed Oct 02 â Charlottesville, VA â Ting Pavilion
Sat Oct 05 â New York, NY â Madison Square Garden
Sun Oct 06 â New York, NY â Madison Square Garden (Matinee Show)
Tue Oct 08 â Wilmington, NC â Live Oak Bank Pavilion
Wed Oct 09 â Raleigh, NC â Red Hat Amphitheater
Fri Oct 11 â Nashville, TN â Ascend Amphitheater
Sat Oct 12 â Atlanta, GA â Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park
Sun Oct 13 â Asheville, NC â Rabbit Rabbit
Tue Oct 15 â St. Augustine, FL â St. Augustine Amphitheatre
Thu Oct 17 â Austin, TX â Moody Center
*Festival date