''Only God Was Above Us'' is the fifth studio album by American indie rock band Vampire Weekend, released on April 5, 2024, through

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. It marks the third collaboration between the band and their longtime producer Ariel Rechtshaid. It is also the first album recorded by the band as a trio of vocalist-guitarist Ezra Koenig, bassist Chris Baio and drummer Chris Tomson after the 2016 departure of keyboardist

Rostam Batmanglij Rostam Batmanglij ( fa, رستم باتمانقلیچ, ; born November 28, 1983), known mononymously as Rostam, is an American record producer, musician, singer, songwriter, and composer. He was a founding member of the band Vampire Weekend, whos ...

; 2019's '' Father of the Bride'', the first post-Batmanglij Vampire Weekend album, was created and promoted by Koenig as a solo project with Baio and Tomson only involved for the album's tours.

Background

Ezra Koenig began to write the lyrics for ''Only God Was Above Us'' between 2019 and 2020, while primary recording sessions took place over the following years in Manhattan, Los Angeles, London and Tokyo. The album was co-produced by Koenig and the band's longtime collaborator Ariel Rechtshaid, with additional production by the band's drummer, Chris Tomson, and former band member

. It was mixed by Dave Fridmann and mastered by Emily Lazar. The project draws artistic inspiration from a 20th-century New York City aesthetic. The album's title is derived from the headline of a May 1, 1988 ''

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...

'' article, as shown in the album's artwork photographed by Steven Siegel. This article recounts the incident involving Aloha Airlines Flight 243, in which a structural failure caused the aircraft's roof to be torn off mid-flight. The phrase "Only God was above us" was quoted from one of the passengers. In a press release, ''Only God Was Above Us'' was described as "direct yet complex", showcasing the band at its grittiest, most beautiful, and melodic. The first two singles from the album, " Capricorn" and "Gen-X Cops", were released on February 16, 2024, alongside two music videos. ''Only God Was Above Us'' was released on April 5, 2024. To celebrate the release of the album, the band began the album's tour at the Moody Amphitheater in Austin, Texas on April 8, Koenig's fortieth birthday, during a total solar eclipse. During the tour's encores, they played improvised covers of songs requested by the audience.

Critical reception

''Only God Was Above Us'' received acclaim from critics. On Metacritic, the album has a weighted average score of 88 out of 100, based on 23 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". '' Pitchfork'' gave the album a score of 8.6 out of 10, as well as the site's "Best New Music" designation. The site's Matthew Strauss wrote in his review, "''Only God Was Above Us'' is lsothe most honest album Vampire Weekend have made, an encapsulation of what the band does best, melodic and abstruse in Koenig's own masterful way."

Commercial performance

The album debuted on the ''Billboard'' 200 at number 27, their first album to miss the top 20. It also lasted a solitary week on the chart.

Track listing

Notes *"Mary Boone" features a sample from " Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)", written by Beresford Romeo, Caron Wheeler, Nellee Hooper and Simon Law, and performed by Soul II Soul featuring Wheeler.

Personnel

Vampire Weekend * Ezra Koenig – vocals (all tracks), electric guitar (1–3, 5, 6), acoustic guitar (1, 3, 5, 10), piano (1–8, 10),

12-string acoustic guitar A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 strings in six courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lower four courses are tuned in o ...

(2), organ (2, 6), synth bass (4), synthesizer (4, 9), keyboards (4, 9), guitar (9) * Chris Tomson – drums (1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9) * Chris Baio – bass (1, 3, 7, 9, 10) Additional musicians * Ariel Rechtshaid – drum programming (1–4, 8), electric guitar (1–3, 10), synthesizer (1–9), keyboards (1, 2, 4–9), drums (2, 4, 6, 9, 10), upright bass (2), bass (3, 5–7, 9),

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

(3), synth bass (4), drum machine (5), Farfisa (5),

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...

(6, 10), guitar (7, 9),

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). ...

(8), tambourine (8), percussion (8),

glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( or , : bells and : set) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone. The glo ...

(10) * Matt DiMona – electric guitar (2) * Miles Mosley – upright bass (2) * Henry Solomon –

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contra ...

(2), tenor saxophone (2) *

Isabel Hagen Isabel Hagen () is an American violist and comedian. Early life and education Isabel Hagen was born in New York City, New York, and grew up in Manhattan. She started playing the violin at age 5 and switched to the viola at age 10. At age 12 she ...

–

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

voice (2) * Jay Mumford – drums (3), additional drums (10) * Hamilton Berry – cello (4) * Dev Hynes – drums (5) * Eric Gorfain – violin (5) * Daphne Chen – violin (5) * Michelle Rearick – cello (7) * Eliza Bagg – choir (8) * Jodie Landau – choir (8) * Luc Kleiner – choir (8) * Kathryn Shuman – choir (8) Production * Ariel Rechtshaid – production, orchestral arrangement (1–4, 6, 8–10), recording * Ezra Koenig – production, orchestral arrangement (1–4, 6, 8–10) *

– production (6) * Chris Tomson – production (7) * Will Canzoneri – orchestral arrangement (1–4, 6, 8–10), recording * Dave Fridmann – mixing, Dolby Atmos mixing, additional engineering * Michael Fridmann – Dolby Atmos mix engineering, additional engineering * Emily Lazar – mastering * Matt DiMona – recording * Kyle Parker Smith – recording * Dave Schiffman – recording * Chris Baio – additional engineering Artwork * Nick Harwood – art direction *

Steven Siegel Steven Siegel (born 1953) is an American artist whose work includes public art, installation art, sculpture, collage and film.Phillips, Patricia C. "Wandering Through Time: The Sculpture of Steven Siegel," ''Sculpture'', October 2003, p. 32– ...

– "Subway Dreams" photos * Michael Schmelling – band photos

Charts

Notes

References

{{Vampire Weekend 2024 albums Albums produced by Ariel Rechtshaid Columbia Records albums Vampire Weekend albums