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. Ricko
    Apr 22, 2020
    7
    Album number 3 combines elements of the debut and it's follow up "Contra". My experience with the album follows the same path to all VW records. Decent pop but very far down the list of albums I'd ever go back to. There is a lot to appreciate about how they put their songs and records together. They put more into the construction of a song than is initially apparent. They are differentAlbum number 3 combines elements of the debut and it's follow up "Contra". My experience with the album follows the same path to all VW records. Decent pop but very far down the list of albums I'd ever go back to. There is a lot to appreciate about how they put their songs and records together. They put more into the construction of a song than is initially apparent. They are different indie to the rest and this is very much by design. At least a quarter of the songs are excellent. There is just something about them for me that I can't get past and to use a John Peel analogy, they are a team playing in the top division when in reality they are 2nd division at best.… Expand
  2. All_ButTrU4
    Nov 24, 2021
    8
    When everything here lines up the right way--and it more often than not, it does--Modern Vampires is the perfect album for the coming Atlantic summer. Think of it like **** taffy: bright and sweet, with plenty to chew on.
  3. Vampire25
    May 16, 2013
    9
    Modern Vampires of the City is an explosive third record by Vampire Weekend. It's easily some of the smartest, ambitious, and catchiest pop music I've heard in quite some time. Vampire Weekend went from preppy, polo-wearing self-indulgent young men that really enjoyed their afro-pop records to now older gentlemen that can't seem to shake off the feeling of death at every corner. It's aModern Vampires of the City is an explosive third record by Vampire Weekend. It's easily some of the smartest, ambitious, and catchiest pop music I've heard in quite some time. Vampire Weekend went from preppy, polo-wearing self-indulgent young men that really enjoyed their afro-pop records to now older gentlemen that can't seem to shake off the feeling of death at every corner. It's a huge maturation that they hinted at with Contra, but now seem to fully embrace with this new record. The production this time around is much more ambitious, and Ezra's lyrics and vocals have matured as well to even more bliss.

    All In All, Vampire Weekend craft their biggest record yet, and is so far my favorite of 2013. A-    … Expand
  4. axelkoch
    Jul 29, 2013
    9
    It seems like just yesterday that the four New Yorkers made a surprisingly big impact on America’s indie music scene with their self-titled debut, but Vampire Weekend has already come back for a 3rd album with Modern Vampires of the City, half a decade after their sudden success. And thinking “that was so long ago?” now is understandable since the band has never really departed from theirIt seems like just yesterday that the four New Yorkers made a surprisingly big impact on America’s indie music scene with their self-titled debut, but Vampire Weekend has already come back for a 3rd album with Modern Vampires of the City, half a decade after their sudden success. And thinking “that was so long ago?” now is understandable since the band has never really departed from their roots; even the remarkably darker Modern Vampires has a couple of tracks that are quite exactly in the style of their first two major releases. But let’s not draw the curtain over it: Vampire Weekend sound really fresh and renewed with their new album while their not-that-altered-after-all style makes it clear that Ezra, Rostam, Chris, and Chris are still able to find the same amount of pleasure in making music as they did when writing noughties classics like Oxford Comma or Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa. While the unbelievably smoggy New York on the CD cover could have induced you to expect a darker album, Modern Vampires is, with a few exceptions, quite buoyant, after all. Frontman Koenig is, for example, singing his lyrics so fast in Finger Back or Worship You that the accompanying booklet is necessary to understand everything. And in fact, songs like those two are, even though they are likely the two weakest songs on the album, really important in preventing the album from becoming dreary. On other songs like Hudson, Hannah Hunt or Young Lion, the band’s nature gets some modification as well and while all of this isn’t a Standing on the Shoulders of Giants-esque change in tone, it is still a very entertaining and very well-done new approach to their music. What also made me like it more than Vampire Weekend and Contra are the more understandable lyrics (barring Finger Back that is cryptic), however, rummaging through the internet during the first listening session is supposably still indispensable. Anyway, the songs provide even greater fun if you manage to comprehend (or basically just interpret because we don’t actually have proof for RapGenius’ annotations or the like) them and I’m willing to bet that they’ll land on your iPhone library just in a matter of days. It’s admittedly hard to make a step forward from two albums that were as great as their two previous ones, but while not continuously as good as their career highpoints Diane Young or Hannah Hunt; Modern Vampires of the City is an immensely fulfilling follow-up that you will soon adore for pretty much anything that you can adore about music.… Expand
  5. Muddsjr
    Feb 22, 2014
    8
    Modern Vampires of the City is Vampire Weekend's darkest album that might lack in that familiar ground that made Vampire Weekend, Vampire Weekend in the first place, but after a few plays and a few more times to adjust to Vamp's more experimental and dark ground, as it turns out, Modern Vampires of the City might just be a clean page for this phenomenal, endlessly surprising and creative band.
  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
  7. Mab_987
    Jul 12, 2013
    9
    This album takes all the elements about Contra that really developed the band’s sound, and keeps going in that direction while simultaneously, to some extent, abandoning key elements of their original style more something that’s a bit more refined, a bit more mature, and overall another step in the right direction. No matter which album you look at though, one element that runs through allThis album takes all the elements about Contra that really developed the band’s sound, and keeps going in that direction while simultaneously, to some extent, abandoning key elements of their original style more something that’s a bit more refined, a bit more mature, and overall another step in the right direction. No matter which album you look at though, one element that runs through all of them to me is how, as broad and sometimes overused as this sub-genre tag is, Vampire Weekend is the absolute epitome of “indie pop”. While always being chock full of catchy hooks & usually having a lot of accessibility, they’re also never afraid to experiment or throw in a few unorthodox elements, and you can always tell there’s a lot of effort & creativity being put into the songwriting in creating these sets of great pop tunes that, while easy to get into, always have a certain bite to them, whether it be with infectious hooks, fun energy or emotional resonance.

    The latter in particular is in my opinion the main improvement of this album in comparison to their previous work: the lyrics & moods. While not entirely devoid of substance, the emphasis of those albums, especially on the debut, seemed to be on just a group of cool upper-class college kids writing fun upbeat pop songs. Which is fine & all, but it seems like on MVotC something suddenly clicked in Ezra's brain that made him really get in touch with his sincere & vulnerable side, and as a result his lyrics became more interesting to read into & possibly connect with. One highly recurring theme here is Koenig’s strained & almost antagonistic relationship with religion, particularly on track like “Unbelievers”, “Worship You”, and more subtly & symbolically on various other tracks that are a bit harder to decode. Even though I’m a Christian myself I can appreciate anti-religious messages as long as they’re handled with a sense of intelligence & class. Fortunately that was the case here. “Unbelievers” is a song that to me can be interpreted in one of 2 ways: either it’s an “atheist love song” of sorts about a couple willing to undergo together the slight sense of shunning in society atheists tend to get for, or from the point of view of an atheist man dating a religious woman & struggling to keep that difference from getting in the way of things too much. Either way it’s a pretty engaging situation to think about. “Worship You” is a much more standard track pointing out valid hypocrisies of some of the worse religious people out there & why some people have a certain level of vendetta against organized religion altogether. Aside from that, other interesting tracks lyrically include the complicated & metaphor-flooded “Step,” which on multiple occasions compares a man’s relationship with his significant other to that of his relationship with his music collection/tastes. One more lyrically notable track is the opener “Obvious Bicycle”, which details a socially bankrupt man with seemingly little meaning to his life pandering to the greedy businessmen of the world to get by. It’s a descriptive character piece that I’m sure a lot of people could relate to in this day & age. Both in the previous cases & with this there’s a lot of sincerity & sentimentality put into the messages, and I hope to see this kind of emotional openness reappear on the band’s future work.

    My favorite track here, and one of my favorite songs of 2013 period, is Diane Young, a fantastically catchy, upbeat & kinda insane conglomeration of sounds that to me sounds like what would happen if Elvis was still alive in 2013 & listened to a lot of Pitchfork-promoted indie rock bands, and maybe an EDM producer or 2. And it’s all done with this carefree & bombastic attitude that I can’t imagine anyone not enjoying to some degree. Lyrically it’s not one of the more overflowing songs substance-wise, but it does have a cute little homophone-wordplay title & some clever lines about living life to its fullest if the titular fate won’t faze you. Going back to how the album is musically though, this album is probably the band at their most creative ambitious & probably at their most diverse, if not at around the same level as that of Contra. However, MVotC seemingly shows a mindset shift in their creative process, thinking more “let’s write a set of great tracks that flow together well” than “let’s see how crazy we can get in this one style incorporating this element here”, though the latter does admittedly pop up on a couple tracks here & there. Still there are definitely changes between tracks, between slow & sentimental tracks, steady mid-tempo grooves on tracks like “Ya Hey” (which incorporates these weird chipmunk-like backing vocals that while annoying at first grew on me a bit), a few that just go bonkers tempo-wise, and the downright creepy semi-closing track “Hudson”.

    One thing’s for sure on Modern Vampires of the City: Vampire Weekend isn’t even close to creatively bankrupt yet. 95/100    … Expand
  8. jotaeseche
    Aug 28, 2014
    10
    After two stylish, modern and flourished albums, Vampire Weekend found the perfect way to sound familiar yet more complex, more mature, more eccentric, while showing and performing catchy and lovely songs that easily stick to both a summer party or a cosy living room with a fire and a sofa. They haven't changed at all; they, actually, have maximized and refined their essence, their talent.
  9. shad0w0711
    Aug 15, 2022
    7
    Bah, not bad, but still beeing the same than VW 2 previous records, is nothing to be impressed but is something really nice, sounds and feels great you feel tired.
  10. 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
  11. Geologist
    May 14, 2013
    8
    Modern Vampires Of The City is Vampire Weekend's evolution in sound yet again, providing a more chilled, eerie vibe than their past two albums. While die-hard fans of Contra and the debut may find it harder to get into, it's destined to grow on you after spinning it a few times.
  12. jmarkfin
    Sep 17, 2013
    10
    The best release in a summer that was packed with quality music and hype. Vampire Weekend gets better with each effort, and the drastic change in musical style while still maintaining an incredibly unique identity and sound and continuing to produce masterfully impresses.
  13. 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.
  14. N10
    Dec 2, 2013
    10
    Absolutely fantastic, my personal favorite indie rock record this year, album of the year material. Screw it, one of the better records of the past decade. Lovin' it!
  15. 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
  16. RaynerCS
    Jun 16, 2021
    10
    Perfeito! As letras são cheias de metáforas sobre envelhecer, religião e desilusões sobre a vida isso como uma melodia pop e catchy. Sobre a produção eu nem sei o que falar além de incrível e impecável serio mesmo, é a mais diferentona dos três primeiros, ela é super rica, as vezes tenta coisa acontecendo mas fica tão bom e vc se perder dentro das melodias
  17. revillo
    May 22, 2013
    10
    Before Modern Vampires, these guys were a guilty pleasure. Fun and catchy as hell, but phony and often shallow. All that's gone now. What we get is essential, beautiful and adventurous indie pop, sophisticated songwriting and emotional lyrics. Can't get enough of it.
  18. ZacharyMatson
    Jun 19, 2013
    10
    There are just so many things I can say about this album. But for the life of me I just cant figure out how to say them. All I can really express is how this album may be the most important piece of music I have ever listened to. There is so much beauty in the minds of Ezra, Rostam, CT, and Baio. The four of them plus additional producer Ariel Rechtscaid have created a spectacular recordThere are just so many things I can say about this album. But for the life of me I just cant figure out how to say them. All I can really express is how this album may be the most important piece of music I have ever listened to. There is so much beauty in the minds of Ezra, Rostam, CT, and Baio. The four of them plus additional producer Ariel Rechtscaid have created a spectacular record that I believe will never be forgot.… Expand
  19. 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!
  20. RedOwlReviews
    Feb 5, 2014
    9
    Few albums in 2013 were crafted as intelligently as Vampire Weekend's "Modern Vampires of the City." The album bursts with creativity and technical brilliance. Coruscating and groovy tracks like "Diane Young" and haunting but rhythmically bright tracks like "Unbelievers" and "Ya Hey" both serve as a testament to this album's efforts to not succumb to the popular trends of past musicalFew albums in 2013 were crafted as intelligently as Vampire Weekend's "Modern Vampires of the City." The album bursts with creativity and technical brilliance. Coruscating and groovy tracks like "Diane Young" and haunting but rhythmically bright tracks like "Unbelievers" and "Ya Hey" both serve as a testament to this album's efforts to not succumb to the popular trends of past musical styles, but instead, carve out its own name (while maintaining the integrity they have established in their past two albums). Vampire Weekend has set new standards that will be hard to beat for any upcoming alternative albums this year.

    FINAL SCORE: 92.5 (almost perfect -----o--------------- perfect)    … Expand
  21. edvard
    Sep 27, 2013
    9
    First listen, didnt really care, second listen, awesome! So catchy songs. I find myself whistling or singing along with all songs! Really awesome awesome! Favorites: Unbelievers, Diane Young, Hannah Hunt, Everlasting Arms, Finger Back.
  22. Calciferus
    Jun 2, 2013
    9
    One of two best release of this May release. Vampire Weekend shed their Afrobeat signature and replace it with something totally different. If you really into Contra and their debut album, it might take some spin to swallow it through. Highlight tracks: Step, Diane Young, Worship You
  23. Disk
    Jul 15, 2014
    8
    Here they are. Out of the smoke and rubble, NYC’s Vampire Weekend emerges with a new change of attitude. It’s been three years since the college radio-loved VW have released an album and the world has seen them recluse into the vapor to discover a new path into the musical atmosphere. With their new album, Modern Vampires of the City,Vampire Weekend has journeyed successfully.
  24. Billyliar87
    May 14, 2013
    9
    Awesome effort by VW. They manage to keep things fresh, while still maintaining their charm. Album highlights include: Obvious Bicycle, Diane Young, and Ya hey.
  25. Tvpfreek
    May 25, 2013
    9
    A fantastic record from start to finish. Modern Vampires is a solid, confident and intelligent album from a band that finally is starting to show some maturity and breadth. Their best effort to date.
  26. Velocijoey
    Mar 19, 2014
    10
    An album that changes the way we all look at an already well established band. Soft beats, Tender harmonies and light production value make this album a success in even the toughest markets. An essential album to have and give a listen or 10.
  27. DiskMagazine
    Jun 18, 2013
    8
    Here they are. Out of the smoke and rubble, NYC’s Vampire Weekend emerges with a new change of attitude. It’s been three years since the college radio-loved VW have released an album and the world has seen them recluse into the vapor to discover a new path into the musical atmosphere. With their new album, Modern Vampires of the City,Vampire Weekend has journeyed successfully.
    The    Here they are. Out of the smoke and rubble, NYC’s Vampire Weekend emerges with a new change of attitude. It’s been three years since the college radio-loved VW have released an album and the world has seen them recluse into the vapor to discover a new path into the musical atmosphere. With their new album, Modern Vampires of the City,Vampire Weekend has journeyed successfully.
    The differences between MVOTCand VW’s two previous releases (Contra 2010, Vampire Weekend 2008) are noticeable. Gone is the advertisement of preppy college life and the young men they were. VW has changed, as heard in Track 3: Step (The gloves are off, the wisdom teeth are out). They’ve matured over a span of three years, and they know it. MVOTC is an album dedicated to the exit of youth and entering of the notion of growing up and facing life. The album could almost be considered as the step brother of the Vampire Weekend we all know. The album cover says it all. There are no filtered pictures of Columbia University ballrooms or 1980’s models. The only reason why the name “Vampire Weekend” is emerging from the NYC smog is to remind fans that the same band that recorded Contra and their self-titled debut is the same one that is recording this one.
    Track 1: Obvious Bicycle
    It’s an appropriate start to the album. It’s slow, smoky, and spooky. It sounds like the hollow ghost inside VW that we never knew existed coming out and speaking. It’s a song presenting you with the idea that the band really has possibly “grown up”. It ends with a few measures of piano that attach to you if you listen close enough and really distracts you away in an alternate universe of VW. (8.5/10)
    Track 2: Unbelievers
    A track that presents a little of that good old “VW prep vibe” to the listener without them thinking that MVOTC will create the same feel as previous VW LP’s. It’s quicker without leaving you in the dust. Track 2 hands out the religious ideal that people are almost destined to fail disguised in a halfway gloomy hit. (8.3/10)
    Track 3: Step
    Now the album starts that sway away again from the old VW. Choir voices are almost hidden in the background. The bass and drums are calm and curious. Ezra Koenig (the lead singer) knows the band has changed. He lets you know and you now know you aren’t going to soon forget it. It’s a tale of breaking away from the previous memories and creating new and more adult ones. (8.5/10)
    Track 4: Diane Young
    As if the play on “Dying young” wasn’t enough, VW also generated a killer sax backing groove and the addition of the voice box to add to the song. It’s the most “pop” song on here with a simple story about a girl named Diane Young lighting a car on fire and the activity and thoughts that ensue after. It’s like funk and punk had a baby. (8.4/10)
    Track 5: Don’t Lie
    You feel another emotional and tempo change of flow with this song. It’s a solid tune that presents the other idea that VW is growing up and packing youth up in the attic. Ezra sees that everyone is going to die and it’s time to stop YOLO-ing and start looking at the world like adults should. He wants you to stop lying to yourself about your age. (7.7/10)
    Track 6: Hannah Hunt
    Hands down my favorite song off of MVOTCand possibly my all-time favorite VW song. The story is simple. A boy (Ezra?) and a girl (Hannah Hunt) are on the rocks. The longer they go, the worse it gets. The song is slowly rocking, like the waves at the Santa Barbara beaches. Ezra knows Hannah is a special girl but his constant mistakes are too much for her to bear and it must end. The flow quietly builds, until the explosion of piano, percussion, and the ecstatically electrical voice of Ezra’s breaks through and hurls you into a brief state of emotion created by music that VW has never produced and is very rarely heard. Read the story on why Ezra used Hannah Hunt as a name (she’s a real person with connections to him). The song was written about eight years ago but Ezra claimed that VW never truly got it right until now, and I’d have to agree with that. (9.4/10)
    Track 7: Everlasting Arms
    Religion is the main focal point in this track, as Ezra questions the authority and role of God in the real world. The beat is catchy and the lyrics are questioning, but a darker approach could really capture the ideal that VW is trying to present in a different light. (7.3/10)
    Track 8: Finger Back
    The drums explode, the synth peeks through, and Ezra’s vocals are loud and a little overdone to represent the complaints of people in this song analyzing the places of social status. Religion once again makes a detailed appearance in the track. (7.0/10)
    Track 9: Worship You
    Guess what, another song with religion as the main focal point. Ezra again asks God what he wants from his people. He wonders how much devotion, praise, and faith God really desires and if the people that are here now, being so bipolar in faith, are really his true worshipers. The song’s rhythm is quite quick. Once again, a darker approach with each of these last three songs could probably get the point across more. (7.2/10)
    Track 10: Ya Hey
    The song’s title is a play on “Yahweh”, a Jewish God reference and is vague and ghoulish. The lyrics question the relevance of people in God’s eyes and God in people’s eyes and ponders if love exists between the two. It’s slow, dramatic, antique, and misty. Great song all throughout and makes multiple Moses references and even a Stones one. (8.4/10)
    Track 11: Hudson
    Hudson is easily the most un-Vampire Weekend song on the album. It’s an historical ode to the Hudson Bay and River in NYC, where all the band members grew up. Ezra turns it into a worrisome song about impending death and war. It’s the spookiest song and for a good reason. It would be the perfect song to visualize the seconds before death and destruction that he believes may come soon. Ezra looks at the history of America and what it’s come to. Haunting and memorable. (8.7/10)
    Track 12: Young Lion
    There’s something I see in this under-two minute song finishing off the album. It’s disillusioned and wavy. Calm yet questioning. It’s simple enough that the only line in the song (“You take your time, young lion”) wrap up the struggle that the band is seeing with maturing. But they end by feeling that with time, their place in the world will come alive. (8.0/10)
    8.3/10
    Most Favorite Tracks: Hannah Hunt, Obvious Bicycle, Hudson, Step
    Least Favorite Tracks: Finger Back, Worship You    … Expand
  28. panicatthefun
    Jul 10, 2013
    10
    I got so excited for this album to come out! I've listened to it almost 4 times since release! I think this could be their best album overall! Best tracks in my opinion: Unbelievers, Diane Young, Ya Hey
  29. Blurbtwndalines
    May 14, 2013
    10
    Haters beware. This is the album that change your entire outlook on Vampire Weekend. Gone are the peppy, Afrobeats and Synths that dominated the first two records. Gone (for the most part) are the ivy-leaguer lyrical references. Instead Vampire Weekend gives us their most concise, beautiful, and varied album. Difficult without actually challenging the listener, because the pop hooks are soHaters beware. This is the album that change your entire outlook on Vampire Weekend. Gone are the peppy, Afrobeats and Synths that dominated the first two records. Gone (for the most part) are the ivy-leaguer lyrical references. Instead Vampire Weekend gives us their most concise, beautiful, and varied album. Difficult without actually challenging the listener, because the pop hooks are so good. Through and Through it's still a Vampire Weekend album; you can hear it in the "M79" strings of "Don't Lie" or the up-tempo "a-Punk" beat of "Unbelievers," but this album takes those ideas found in previous albums and takes them in interesting directions. There is never a dull moment on the record; the songs continually shift and distort until their conclusion. I can't think of a better album or direction Vampire Weekend could have taken. Easily their best work yet, and quite possibly the album of the year already for 2013.… Expand
  30. RamonGuerrero
    May 2, 2014
    10
    As the songs go one, you will keep thinking in the awesome lyrics and different rhythm that totally changed the look of Vampire Weekend. This revolutionary album is the band's best till now, and I can't wait to see what will come next.
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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.
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  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.
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