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Modern Vampires Of The City

Vampire Weekend

Modern Vampires Of The City

Third album of indie pop / rock from the New York four-piece produced by Ariel Rechtshaid (Charli XCX, Usher, Major Lazer)

ADM rating[?]

8.2

Label
XL
UK Release date
13/05/2013
US Release date
14/05/2013
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  1. 10.0 |   Pretty Much Amazing

    Yet another giant leap forward for the band, sonically, musically and thematically
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  2. 10.0 |   The Digital Fix

    It’s hard to shake the feeling that Vampire Weekend might just have produced a real contender for modern greatness
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  3. 10.0 |   A.V. Club

    As a capstone to what it’s done so far, Modern Vampires Of The City feels pretty perfect
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  4. 9.3 |   Pitchfork

    You don't have to get obsessed to enjoy this music, but it's presented with such care that you can't help but want to learn about its deeper meanings
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  5. 9.0 |   Slant Magazine

    Perhaps the best album in a year already thick with great material
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  6. 9.0 |   Consequence Of Sound

    Modern Vampires of the City shows that if you’re still giving a fuck about a Vampire Weekend privilege narrative, you’re having the wrong conversation
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  7. 9.0 |   No Ripcord

    This is a fully realized Vampire Weekend, one that has transcended their Graceland/Afro-Pop influences and criticisms into something entirely their own
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  8. 9.0 |   Entertainment.ie

    An extravagant bounty of pop gifts, an album that restores our faith in the belief that pop music is capable of delivering surprises when we least expect it to
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  9. 9.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    Immaculate, beautifully balanced and enthralling pop music
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  10. 9.0 |   DIY

    Their most complete record. Full of heart and full of ideas, it’s big, clever and brilliantly odd
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  11. 9.0 |   Clash

    Melodic gifts are here in abundance: but the palette used to explore them has been vastly enhanced, Ezra Koenig’s vocals rich, varied and, at times, transcendental
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  12. 9.0 |   Rolling Stone

    Vampire Weekend have gotten better at just about everything they do. The grooves – always the thing that made the band's twee side work – are more self-assured
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  13. 9.0 |   Uncut

    A more enjoyable pairing of words and music this year is hard to imagine
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  14. 8.8 |   Billboard

    Vampire Weekend's most musically accomplished album to date
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  15. 8.7 |   Paste Magazine

    It may not meet the high standards of Contra, but these new songs come pretty close, which is no small feat
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  16. 8.5 |   Beats Per Minute

    Vampire Weekend have gone from puckish indie rockers to a fully formed indie rock institution
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  17. 8.0 |   The Quietus

    Modern Vampires quite often touches brilliance, and does so without audibly straining for 'maturity' or pushing hard to be some po-faced Great American Album
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  18. 8.0 |   Fact

    This album is as life-affirming a piece of music as anything else you’ll hear this year: there’s nothing more uplifting than a good band getting better
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  19. 8.0 |   All Music

    Even if Koenig and company fear getting old, maturity suits them well
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  20. 8.0 |   musicOMH

    Vampire Weekend have re-imagined themselves as the sort of band who could be doing this well into their 30s
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  21. 8.0 |   PopMatters

    Those who have been gripped or at least mildly interested by the band’s progression over its first two LPs will find Modern Vampires of the City to be an expansive, illustrious work
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  22. 8.0 |   Spin

    Their sound is thicker now, and moodier too, with streaks of gray in a palette that was once all neon and pastel
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  23. 8.0 |   Evening Standard

    Shows a band getting more interesting as it grows up
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  24. 8.0 |   Q

    Magical pop album about life and death. Print edition only

  25. 8.0 |   Mojo

    Gone are the tightly coiled high-life guitars and fleet-footed syncopations, supplanted by something more intuitive and inclusive. Print edition only

  26. 8.0 |   State

    This is not a maudlin record. It is not a saccharine ode to home or a cliché-ridden coming of age. It’s tight, but never claustrophobic
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  27. 8.0 |   The Arts Desk

    Mixes louche, languid tracks with summery indie rock jams, all underpinned by the world music-inspired rhythms that have become the band’s trademark
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  28. 8.0 |   The Guardian

    A lot of noughties alt-rock bands arrived with sound and image fully formed, then struggled to transcend it when the novelty wore off, but that's just what Modern Vampires of the City succeeds in doing
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  29. 8.0 |   The Irish Times

    What on earth is that sound? Oh, yeah – it’s gorgeous pop music, the likes of which just don’t seem to get made anymore
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  30. 8.0 |   Independent on Sunday

    Their most cohesive and convincing effort yet
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  31. 8.0 |   The Observer

    Their erudition, musical and lyrical, remains a pleasure, but what convinces on Modern Vampires are their beating hearts
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  32. 7.8 |   Under The Radar

    Review 1: Unlike its predecessors, Modern Vampires of the City just doesn't have as much good music to justify its lofty ambitions (6.5/10). Review 2: Their best album to date, one that should not only maintain their level of popularity but elevate it (9/10)
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  33. 7.5 |   The 405

    Previously written off as stomach-wrenchingly twee, they may be, but this latest instalment holds enough weight to be opinion-altering
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  34. 7.0 |   FasterLouder

    When it hits the mark, Modern Vampires is an elegant record
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  35. 7.0 |   The Fly

    Though ‘Modern Vampires Of The City’ is flawed repeat listens to this third act are rewarded
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  36. 7.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    Even as the band’s sound has evolved, the music remains immaculately crafted and distinctively its own
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  37. 7.0 |   NME

    This is a gorgeous album, but sacrifices had to be made. They've undeniably lost something that made them special in the first place
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  38. 6.0 |   The Independent

    Experimentation is generally to be applauded, but too often here it works to the detriment of the songs
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  39. 6.0 |   Blurt

    The album starts to wear thin about halfway in and never really gets back the strength of those first few songs
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  40. 5.0 |   Sputnik Music (staff)

    As it stands, it’s just another Vampire Weekend album, except the songs are less catchy and more sterile this time around
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  41. Back to main chart

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