The Needle Drop

vampire weekend

Phosphorescent - "Ya Hey" (Vampire Weekend Cover)

New TracksjeremyComment

"Ya Hey" is probably one of the most annoying songs on Vampire Weekend's often-good third LP, Modern Vampires of the City. However, that didn't stop Phosphorescent from ambling through a quite beautiful performance of it when they stopped by KCSN. Led by Matthew Houck's well-worn and amber vocals, their version is a lot more bearable than the original, and is definitely worth a listen.

Look out for a deluxe edition of Phosphorescent's very good 2013 LP, Muchacho, which includes a disc of live cuts, via Dead Oceans on October 29.

Vampire Weekend - "Diane Young" / "Step"

New Tracksadmin1 Comment

Vampire Weekend drops two new singles from the band's forthcoming LP, Modern Vampires Of The City, which is looking at a release on the first week of May right now.

Both tracks have their strong points and personalities. "Diane Young" is incredibly lively, and is loaded with strange vocal effects, and "Step" is a truly lovely ballad. I like that the band is progressing all of the refined pop elements they brought into play on Contra, and keeping them interesting. Enjoy!

Baio- "Tanto"

New TracksDannySpitsComment

Following in bandmate Rostam Batmanglij's footsteps, Vampire Weekend bassist Chris Baio has started up a solo project of his own. Simply dubbed Baio, the project is looking at a May 21 release for its debut EP, titled Sunburn. Our first sampling of the release is the Matias Aguayo feature "Tanto," which will appear as the EP's closing track. Baio takes the song's six-and-a-half minutes to embark on a steel drum-heavy Balearic Beat excursion that might make fans of John Talabot's most recent offering happy. Aguayo's contribution, a set of wordless yet catchy melodies, sits comfortably atop the production with infectious results.

Listen to the track above, and check over at Greco-Roman in a few weeks for the EP's release.