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9.1
111108
9.1 |
A.V. Club
Father Of The Bride isn’t the shocking rebirth that might have been expected, given all of the information that trickled out about it over the past six years. Instead, it’s just far enough from expectations to surprise, but close enough to remain true
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9.1
111221
9.1 |
Pretty Much Amazing
It’s as good an album by a Rostam-less Vampire Weekend in 2019 as we could have possibly gotten, and the sound is a return to Vampire Weekend and Contra except arguably better with the ‘upgraded’ production and thoughtful textures
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9.0
111126
9.0 |
All Music
More complex yet more direct than anything they've done before, Father of the Bride finds Vampire Weekend embracing change and delivering some of their most mature and satisfying music in the process
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9.0
111086
9.0 |
The Music
It stands as an example of how great art should make you feel
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9.0
111062
9.0 |
Rolling Stone
The first album in six years from Ezra Koenig and Co. is rich ear candy loaded with helplessness and crisis
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8.4
111136
8.4 |
Northern Transmissions
Its best songs reach, perhaps exceed, Vampire Weekend’s previous heights. And, more importantly, it seems like Ezra the existentialist is having fun within the chaos
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8.3
111135
8.3 |
Consequence Of Sound
Ezra Koenig and guests return with a mature record about love, lust, and loss
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8.0
111133
8.0 |
Evening Standard
How can you be happy when the world is so messed up? Who knows, but there are enough pleasures here to hold the question at bay for a while
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8.0
111329
8.0 |
Under The Radar
Sure, Father of the Bride is messy and overlong—it lacks the sharp brevity of Vampire Weekend's first trilogy of albums. But it is also a smart, witty, comforting listen
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8.0
111937
8.0 |
Record Collector
While this isn’t an album of chart hits, a pop sensibility is evident in the way that they treat music-making as primarily a challenge of curation
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8.0
112044
8.0 |
Punk News
If anything, this album screams this is the way to evolution for the band
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8.0
111070
8.0 |
Mojo
Feels like a transition record rather than a lifelong commitment. Print edition only
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8.0
111044
8.0 |
NME
The first album in nearly six-years is a key reinvention for the indie stalwarts, with a looseness and funkiness that proves, thankfully, they've not overthought the comeback. It's just load of fun, you know?
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8.0
111045
8.0 |
Q
Longer, looser, less eager to impress, and more American than its predecessors ... Vampire Weekend's prettiest album is also their weightiest. Print edition only
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8.0
111052
8.0 |
Exclaim
Finds them at their most relaxed, jovial and inviting
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8.0
111059
8.0 |
The Arts Desk
It brings to mind the production of Dirty Projectors, but backed by more assured songwriting
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8.0
111090
8.0 |
The Skinny
A giddy, sprawling fourth record, Father of the Bride heralds the dawn of a new era for Vampire Weekend
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8.0
111094
8.0 |
Clash
For some Vampire Weekend will remain infuriatingly anti-rock 'n' roll, but if 'Father of the Bride' is anything to go on, they don't give a good goddamn. Welcome back, boys
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8.0
111104
8.0 |
The Guardian
Their first album in six years sees VW integrating styles from country to flamenco into their preppy pop, often brilliantly
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8.0
111107
8.0 |
DIY
Easy to laugh at, and all the more brave for it, ‘Father Of The Bride’ is a joyous, fearless listen
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8.0
111115
8.0 |
Spectrum Culture
A welcome return from one of the most compelling acts of the 21st century
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8.0
111124
8.0 |
Pitchfork
Vampire Weekend return with a shaggy, sprawling double album all about rebirth, contentment, and the reclamation of light
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7.5
111174
7.5 |
The 405
A thought-provoking, bold, and mostly successful attempt at expanding their creative universe
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7.0
111216
7.0 |
musicOMH
While it lacks the zip and polish of their previous records, it’s a fascinating insight into Koenig’s songwriting process as it moves through a period of change
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7.0
111158
7.0 |
PopMatters
With the sprawling 18-track Father of the Bride, Vampire Weekend have written their White Album
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7.0
111160
7.0 |
Slant Magazine
There’s still darkness flitting around Ezra Koenig’s consciousness, but it’s more of the “middle-aged malaise” variety
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7.0
111166
7.0 |
God Is In The TV
Although there are many moments on the album that might not please their long-anticipating fans lyrically and musically, the benefit of a very long player is that there are also a lot moments to love
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7.0
111141
7.0 |
No Ripcord
It's a fascinating look into how Vampire Weekend now operates, but you can't help feeling like their essence as a unit got lost as they put all those pieces back together
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7.0
111153
7.0 |
Earbuddy
We spent the weekend with Vampire Weekend's first album in six years and managed not to hate it as much as the first listen
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7.0
111046
7.0 |
Uncut
It's every bit as immediate and listenable as it is confident, and more buoyant overall than the sombre Modern Vampires. Print edition only
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6.5
111064
6.5 |
The Line Of Best Fit
If Modern Vampires of the City was about feeling young and old at once, never quite fully occupying either state, then Father of the Bride is about feeling exactly one’s age
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6.0
111043
6.0 |
Loud And Quiet
Where its predecessors were bratty or bullish, the band’s fourth album is largely warm, personal, and not a little pleasantly middle-aged
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5.3
111156
5.3 |
Paste Magazine
It’s simply impossible not to wonder what happened and where they lost their way, culminating in a major disappointment for perhaps the most anticipated indie rock album in recent memory
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4.0
111130
4.0 |
The FT
In their first album since the departure of a key member, the New Yorkers have broken the mould — and not in a good way
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4.0
111109
4.0 |
The Irish Times
Koenig wants Father of the Bride to be his opus. But an opus is only an opus if there are enough fresh ideas to match the sense of scope
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