ALBUM REVIEW: Only God Was Above Us by Vampire Weekend

I'm a little late for this one. I'm sorry. But, time to review the fifth outing from Vampire Weekend: Only God Was Above Us!

1. "Ice Cream Piano": 8/10
    Don't ask me what the title means, because I don't know. I don't know what "Obvious Bicycle" means either. It's a pretty cool song, and I love the "the world don't recognize a singer who don't sing" line. It seems to be saying "you can't call yourself something if you don't actually work at it".

2. "Classical": 10/10
    I love this song pretty much all around, from the extremely catchy instrumentals to the catchy chorus. This one is the one I think should be used to represent the album, and that's probably because they used it in some ads for it I saw on Facebook.

3. "Capricorn": 7/10
     It's a good song. I don't really have much to say about it, but it's pretty neat.

4. "Connect": 8/10
     It took me a while to get this song down, but I don't get why. The chorus is unique, and the song seems to be about lamenting how it seems odd that you can't fit in, wondering why you seem so different. 

5. "Prep-School Gangsters": 8/10
    "Somewhere in your family tree, there was someone just like me." This song seems to kind of be the answer to "Connect", where you find solace and connection in someone you love.

6. "The Surfer": 6/10
    I'm sorry, but this is the worst track on the album. I'm giving it a 6 still because it's still beautiful. The guys at Vampire Weekend are insanely talented. I don't think they could make a bad song if they tried to. This one is just very forgettable. I'm actually struggling to remember how it goes right now.

7. "Gen-X Cops": 9/10
    This song was picked to be the lead single for the album, and for good reason. It's a banger. And "each generation makes its own apology" is probably my favorite lyric on the entire album. 

8. "Mary Boone": 10/10
    "Mary Boone, Mary Boone, well, I hope you feel like loving someone soon". This is Vampire Weekend's third song that is titled a full woman's name, after Diane Young and Hannah Hunt, and they've all been great. The choir vocals too make this one stand out.

9. "Pravda": 8/10
    The Russian word for truth. He's leaving at the rising of the moon. Again, I don't have much to say for this one other than that it's good.

10. "Hope": 10/10
      This is now among my favorite closers ever. It may seem repetitive, but the refrain of "I hope you let it go", seems really nice for the end of an album. It seems to be saying "this particular outing is over now, but here's the message we wanna leave you with". It also seems kinda like a message from the band to fans who spend a lot of time worrying.

Official Rating: 84%

Ranking of Tracks:
Mary Boone (10)
Hope (10)
Classical (10)
Gen-X Cops (9)
Pravda (8)
Connect (8)
Prep-School Gangsters (8)
Ice Cream Piano (8)
Capricorn (7)
The Surfer (6)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ALBUM REVIEW: The Maybe Man by AJR

Image
1. "Maybe Man"      This entire song is framed as Jack having an idea about what would be a good change for his life, then giving a reason why that shouldn't actually happen. It's a good song and a unique premise, sure, but it feels like they tried to do "3 O'Clock Things" again but just didn't do as well. It definitely shows their ability for songwriting but doesn't really stick out. Rating: 6/10 2. "Touchy Feely Fool"     AJR is at their best when they're writing relatable and catchy tunes, and this track is the epitome of that. It's about dreaming of the things you wish you could say or do but are too scared/emotional to actually do. It's also just a really good song. Rating: 8/10 3. "Yes I'm a Mess"      A song about trying to accept the chaos and messiness of who you are and trying to embrace it. It's probably my least favorite of the singles leading up to the album's release, but it's still gr
Read more

ALBUM REVIEW: Saviors by Green Day

Image
   When one of your favorite bands releases a new album, it's a good time. Saviors was my most-anticipated album of 2024. So it's weird that it's not even February yet and my most-anticipated album of this year already happened. But, I have tickets to see them live and they're gonna play both Dookie (it's the 30th anniversary) and American Idiot (it's the 20th anniversary) in full, plus stuff from their new album and other stuff. I'm super excited. 1. "The American Dream is Killing Me"   Ah, yes. The debut single from this album. I like how they also made it the opener. This song let's the listener know this album is gonna be sort of a return to form from Green Day, since the last album was... less than stellar. 9/10 2. "Look Ma, No Brains!"     One of the catchiest songs on this album, this song seems to be about embracing ignorance and stupidity in the modern age, and it has a very Insomniac/Nimrod sound to it. 9/10 3. "Bobby S
Read more

FROM MR. HARDY'S DESK: What Is Emo?

Image
   What is emo? The world alone provokes a lot of things, and when you hear the word you probably think of guys with long black hair and eyeliner obsessing about how much their life sucks. Unfortunately, emo also often calls to mind things like self-harm and suicide. But what is emo?    Emo is a term that people are constantly misusing. Emo is an actual genre of music. Emo is short for emotional hardcore, meaning a variant of the genre of hardcore music where the lyrics focus more on emotions.     Now, a lot of people on the internet refer to the "emo trinity": Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco, and My Chemical Romance. Often times, this trinity is instead expanded to an "emo quartet" to include Twenty One Pilots.    I love all four of these bands. I've seen two of them live. I have at least one Funko Pop of three of them and really want the Pops of the one I don't have. I have at least one vinyl record from all four of them. So, because I'm so invested
Read more