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Vampire Weekend: Only God Was Above Us review – their most adventurous set yet
Indian raga, hip-hop and scuzzy, Strokes-like rock replace the west African guitar sounds of old on Ezra Koenig and co’s dazzling fifth album
Only God Was Above Us, their fifth studio album, is perhaps their most musically adventurous since that 2008 self-titled debut: a dazzling auditory romp that takes in feedback and distortion, arpeggiating pianos, curlicued orchestral pop, 90s hip-hop rhythms and levels of chef’s-kiss production detail best appreciated on headphones. As ever, mortality looms large – the title comes, indirectly, from a survivor of an 80s American air disaster. Both Capricorn and Hope, the eight-minute closer, are about not trying so hard and letting go: wise, rather than clever words.
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