VAMPIRE WEEKEND

FatherOfTheBride SONY

At 18 tracks spanning just shy of an hour, Ezra Koenig and co. explore a wealth of evocative pop modes, from the freakishly groovy “Sunflower” to the opulent and folky “Hold You Now”, Rolling Stones-y “Harmony Hall” and Van Morison-esque “This Life”, right to the techno-flamenco banger “Sympathy”. It’s that bright, retro-tinged pop that makes the most significant impact on the ears, though, Koenig bellying up hooks that immediately get stuck in your head à la punchy percussion and lush guitars. Instrumentation in general is phenomenal – deep, dulcet horns, fizzling fiddles and twinkly synths gel in such vociferous harmony with the tonally broad, prismatic guitars that we’re really not surprised it took Koenig six years to crack the code.