Harrison Krasner ’14 | Staff Writer

Vampire Weekend’s highly anticipated third album, “Modern Vampires of the City”, comes out on Tuesday, May 14 and the buzz is that they will continue to grow in both popularity and musical depth.

The band appeared for the third time on Saturday Night Live as the musical guest to promote their new album. They played both “Unbelievers” and “Diane Young” the only pre-released song.  The unique sound and style of the band was evident in this performance including more wind instruments and a rocking baritone sax during “Diane Young”.

Fortunately for me South French teacher Amanda Moon’s husband, Chris Moon, is the band’s Monitor Engineer so I could talk to someone who deals directly with the band. He provides the audio mix that the band hears of themselves through in-ear monitor devices that he controls as they play live. This allows the band to stay in unison and to hear what they are playing because the main speakers at live events are directed toward the audience, which distorts sound on the stage. Chris Moon explained that wearing in-ear monitor devices allows the band to stay in sync and perform better.

Known for their indie Cape Cod rock style, Vampire Weekend brings a unique upbeat sound that is known by many as the first song in “Step Brothers” and/or a song in “Guitar Hero 5”. The band was formed in 2006 when all members of the band met while attending Columbia University in New York City. According to Chris Moon, the band is very easy going and down to earth.

“The band really does not let critics or other people affect them and what they do with their music,” said Chris Moon. “They stay true to themselves and what they want their music to be.”

A pre-released song from the album is the lead and highly popular “Diane Young”. Although the song has many classic Vampire Weekend qualities such as a fast beat, unique pitch, shifting vocals and upbeat melody, it also brings a darker sound to the table.  The depth and darkness is brought through with additional layers in the band sound through the added sax and the various plays on words of ‘dying young’.

“Step” is another song on the album that was released to YouTube by the band. Contrasting the sound of “Diane Young”, “Step” is a slow song that brings a whole new side out of Vampire Weekend. The song features lots of piano and harmonization, which is very unlike their ‘known’ style.

“I would have to say my favorite thing about the new album is seeing how much they have grown musically as a band,” said Chris Moon. “Looking at the first album, that was a very simple album.  You can hear the growth musically from their first album to ‘Modern Vampires of the City’.”

“Modern Vampires of the City” will be well worth the three year wait. According to Chris Moon, the band started working on the album in 2010 right after they released their album “Contra”. The album brings a deeper and darker sound than what people are used to with Vampire Weekend.  Overall it will feature more piano, acoustic guitar and organ as well as a variety in sound the album. The band has a desire to grow and continue to maintain fresh as they do so.

Selling out the Fillmore, Vampire Weekend will play downtown on Friday, May 17. The concert is third stop on their North American tour, which kicks off in Boston on Wednesday, May 15 immediately following the release of their studio recorded album.

The album comes out on Tuesday, May 14.