Modern Vampires of the City
by Vampire Weekend
  • Record Label: XL
  • Release Date: May 14, 2013
User Score
8.8

Universal acclaim- based on 418 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 384 out of 418
  2. Mixed: 21 out of 418
  3. Negative: 13 out of 418

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  1. Duke_Challenger
    May 14, 2013
    6
    After the masterpiece, "Contra", Vampire Weekend has stopped innovating on "Modern Vampires of the City". Instead, they mostly just rehash their previous songs or other people's styles/songs. "Diane Young" sounds like an Elvis song that has a punk edge, and it's first chorus is annoying with the voice affects. "Everlasting Arms" sounds like the song "Giving Up The Gun" from "Contra".After the masterpiece, "Contra", Vampire Weekend has stopped innovating on "Modern Vampires of the City". Instead, they mostly just rehash their previous songs or other people's styles/songs. "Diane Young" sounds like an Elvis song that has a punk edge, and it's first chorus is annoying with the voice affects. "Everlasting Arms" sounds like the song "Giving Up The Gun" from "Contra". "Worship You" sounds like an Irish jig. "Step" uses the same song as a common wedding song. "Unbelievers" reminds me of the song "Gimme Some Lovin'" by the Spencer Davis Group.

    Now there are some good songs here: "Don't Lie", "Hanna Hunt", and "Ya Hey". The latter one though suffers from some annoying squeaky sounds in the chorus, but the emotions in the song are top notch.

    "Obvious Bicycle", "Hudson", and "Young Lion" are all just slow, boring songs in my opinion.    … Expand
  2. BKM
    May 14, 2013
    6
    Vampire Weekend's third album finds the indie-rockers making a deliberate effort to push their music in new directions. After two hugely entertaining gems full of irresistible ear candy, Modern Vampires of the City puts the catchy hooks on the back burner in favor of dense arrangements, sonic experimentation, electronic elements and a darker vibe overall. The result is an album that isVampire Weekend's third album finds the indie-rockers making a deliberate effort to push their music in new directions. After two hugely entertaining gems full of irresistible ear candy, Modern Vampires of the City puts the catchy hooks on the back burner in favor of dense arrangements, sonic experimentation, electronic elements and a darker vibe overall. The result is an album that is ambitious but a little bit boring. VW clearly don't want to stay in the comfort zone they carved out on their first two outings, but album number three is the sound of a group in transition and not quite the masterwork that they are capable of. Hopefully they will pull everything together next time out.… Expand
  3. Nedloh94
    May 20, 2013
    6
    The production is top notch, that's for sure. Yet, their sound doesn't really go anywhere. By all accounts, it's another Vampire Weekend album, which are generally good, but leave something more substantial to be desired.
  4. GHopp8
    Oct 7, 2013
    6
    After falling in love with Contra and Vampire Weekend and the up-beat sound and style that was so unique and characteristic of Vampire Weekend, I find myself quite disappointed as to where Modern Vampires of the City has gone. I commend Vampire Weekend for not entirely selling out and still maintaing some style while going into a genre too often explored and found wanting. The originalityAfter falling in love with Contra and Vampire Weekend and the up-beat sound and style that was so unique and characteristic of Vampire Weekend, I find myself quite disappointed as to where Modern Vampires of the City has gone. I commend Vampire Weekend for not entirely selling out and still maintaing some style while going into a genre too often explored and found wanting. The originality seems to have taken a hit in this album for a more mainstream friendly sound. Not a big fan, and I'm quite disappointed.… Expand
  5. simonsays
    Jun 14, 2013
    6
    I loved this band's first two albums, too bad they changed up their style here and ditched the funky afrobeats and synths. Some good tracks on here, but overall this album just isn't as fun as I'd hoped after hearing two pretty strong singles in Diane Young and Step. Maybe it'll grow on me!
  6. NolanLundgaard
    May 2, 2021
    5
    Modern Vampires of the City by Vampire Weekend: 4.73

    Obvious Bicycle: 1 :) Unbelievers: 1 :) Step: 0.75 Diane Young: 0.25 Don’t Lie: 1 Hannah Hunt: 0.5 Everlasting Arms: 1 :) Finger Back: 0.5 Worship You: 0.5 Ya Hey: 0.75 Hudson: 0.25 Young Lion: 0.75 8.25/12 ~ .688 -> 4.73 After very much enjoying Vampire Weekend’s first two releases, I can say that I was exceedingly    Modern Vampires of the City by Vampire Weekend: 4.73

    Obvious Bicycle: 1 :)
    Unbelievers: 1 :)
    Step: 0.75
    Diane Young: 0.25
    Don’t Lie: 1
    Hannah Hunt: 0.5
    Everlasting Arms: 1 :)
    Finger Back: 0.5
    Worship You: 0.5
    Ya Hey: 0.75
    Hudson: 0.25
    Young Lion: 0.75

    8.25/12 ~ .688 -> 4.73

    After very much enjoying Vampire Weekend’s first two releases, I can say that I was exceedingly disappointed by their third album, Modern Vampires of the City. At first, I didn’t mind the departure from their previous work. After all, I could see their DNA clearly within some of the songs. The main issue with this album is that some things just didn’t sound good, as compared to their easy-to-listen-to pop rock of “Vampire Weekend” and “Contra”. While proportionally better than in “Contra” regarding the “tempo issue,” part of me wishes that that was the biggest problem of Modern Vampires of the City.

    Thanks to the character limit, I cannot provide my song-to-song commentary. This is unfortunate, as I am leaving a review that at first glance may seem unpopular to people, but I stand by my rating. My commentary would have hopefully at least given anyone who decides to read this a better understanding of my outlier rating.

    In all honesty, I felt kind of stunned by Modern Vampires of the City. I was expecting the fun pop rock of the band’s initial releases, instead getting something that was hard to listen to at times. I did particularly enjoy a few of the songs, though. Perhaps the band just tried too hard this time around; things seemed to work better when the songs aren’t flooded with effects or have a tempo that is a bit too fast. If Vampire Weekend could find a happy medium with these issues, perhaps they could produce an album as good as their first. I’m kind of scared now to listen to their fourth (and latest) release, as this one was a bummer. I’ll still listen to it, though I may need to lower my expectations. Fans of the band should pick and choose with this album, though maybe true fans shouldn’t listen to me since this album is one of their more acclaimed. Anyway, I cannot personally recommend it, but there certainly are a few on here that I liked. Highlights: Obvious Bicycle, Unbelievers, Don’t Lie, and Everlasting Arms.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

47
#47 Best Album of 2013
24
#24 Most Discussed Album of 2013
42
#42 Most Shared Album of 2013

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
84

Universal acclaim - based on 51 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 45 out of 51
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 51
  3. Negative: 1 out of 51
  1. Austin Chronicle
    Oct 4, 2013
    67
    If Modern Vampires of the City makes one thing clear, it's that Vampire Weekend's just getting started here.
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  2. Punknews.org (Staff)
    Jun 7, 2013
    80
    Overall, Modern Vampires of The City sounds fantastic, but not overproduced.
    Read full review
  3. Record Collector
    Jun 4, 2013
    60
    While MVOTC doesn’t represent a seismic leap from their earlier material, the general feeling is of a much more considered collection, with greater emphasis on song craft.
    Read full review
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