Vampire Weekend Set April for First Album in Five Years

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George A. Paul
Freelance entertainment writer
Riverside, CA
*covering entertainment since 1990*

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The fifth studio album — and first in five years — from Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig, Chris Baio and Chris Tomson, is due out April 5 from Columbia Records.

Inspired by 20th Century New York City, the album was recorded all over the world, from Manhattan to Los Angeles to London and Tokyo. It was primarily produced by Koenig and longtime collaborator Ariel Rechtshaid, mixed by Dave Fridmann and mastered by Emily Lazar. Watch the album trailer HERE.

The beginnings of the album titled Only God Was Above Us stretch back to 2019-2020, when Koenig wrote the bulk of the lyrics. The title is lifted directly from the album artwork, comprised of photos taken from a subway graveyard in New Jersey in 1988 by Steven Siegel.

In the album's cover, a man in a toppled subway car reads the May 1, 1988 edition of the New York Daily News — the cover story detailing the horrific explosion that tore the roof off Aloha Airlines flight 243. The headline quotes a survivor.

To celebrate their release week, Vampire Weekend will perform in Austin, TX at the Moody Amphitheater at noon on April 8. Tickets for this special event go on sale on February 13 at 10am CT. Pre-sale and general information can be found at www.vampireweekend.com.

The last album, 2019’s Father of the Bride, was the band’s third consecutive #1 on the Billboard 200. Nominated for an Album of the Year GRAMMY, Father of the Bride won Best Alternative Album, marking the band's second win in that category.

Only God Was Above Us will be available digitally, and physically on CD, standard black vinyl, limited edition clear vinyl on the band’s webstore, and with an alternate album cover available exclusively at Independent retailers. Pre-order here.

Track listing:

Ice Cream Piano
Classical
Capricorn
Connect
Prep-School Gangsters
The Surfer
Gen-X Cops
Mary Boone
Pravda
Hope