Vampire Weekend are back, baby. The band have released two new tracks, “Harmony Hall” and “2021”, ahead of their forthcoming, 18-track fourth album Father of the Bride, due out this spring.
“Harmony Hall” was written by the band’s Ezra Koenig and co-produced with pop superproducer Ariel Rechtshaid, with additional production by former Vampire Weekend bandmate Rostam Batmanglij. Guitarist Greg Leisz plays the solo, Dirty Projectors’ Dave Longstreth contributed another guitar part, and Danielle Haim is also credited on the track, as Koenig told Matt Wilkinson on Beats 1.
“2021” was written by Koenig and samples legendary Japanese musician and former Yellow Magic Orchestra member Haruomi Hosono, and also comes co-produced by Rechtshaid. Jenny Lewis sings the word “boy” on it.
Father of the Bride is a title that Koenig chose years ago, although it takes on a different meaning given Koenig’s partner, actress Rashida Jones, recently gave birth. The title has “multiple layers of meaning”, according to a press release, although that meaning will for now remain oblique.
Vampire Weekend’s last album, Modern Vampires of the City, came out in 2013. During the time since then, Koenig created the Netflix animated series Neo Yokio, hosted his Time Crisis show on Beats 1, and co-wrote Beyoncé’s “Hold Up”.
Listen to “Harmony Hall” and “2021” below.