There’s a very good chance you hate Vampire Weekend. You hate their clothes, their campy melodies, and their stupid faces. But if there was ever an argument to change your mind, Modern Vampires of the City might just be it. Though it doesn’t stray far from the sound of their self-titled debut, MVOTC is a much more substantial record. Each song astounds, but it is specific moments that are most memorable: the barroom piano that closes “Obvious Bicycle,” the spoken-word breakdown in “Finger Back” and, of course, the explosive chorus in “Hannah Hunt.” If you don’t love this record then you’ll never understand Vampire Weekend, but for the rest of us MVOTC might be the album of the year.
This article appears in Jul 11-17, 2013.