Vampire Weekend Songs Ranked
Vampire Weekend is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 2006 and currently signed to Columbia Records. The band was formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Ezra Koenig, multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij, drummer Chris Tomson, and bassist Chris Baio. The band’s first album Vampire Weekend (2008)—which included the singles “Mansard Roof”, “A-Punk”, “Oxford Comma”, “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa”, and “The Kids Don’t Stand a Chance”—was acclaimed by critics for its world music influences. Their following album, Contra (2010), was similarly acclaimed and garnered strong commercial success. Their third studio album, Modern Vampires of the City (2013), won the group a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 2014. Batmanglij departed the group in early 2016. The band’s fourth album, Father of the Bride, was released in 2019. Here are all of Vampire Weekend’s songs ranked.
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20. Unbelievers (Modern Vampires of the City, 2013)
“This song is literally amazing! I expected it to be number one on the list. It’s so catchy and meaningful, you can’t not like Unbelievers. It’s one of my favorites.”
19. Mansard Roof (Vampire Weekend, 2008)
“The galloping rhythm played on drums and Tremelo Picking on guitar throughout the song joins together to create a empowering fast paced song, Like legit, the entire song is a damn crescendo. This along with other songs from this album (Vampire Weekend)such as ‘The Kids Don’t Stand a Chance’ and ‘Cape Call of Duty Kwassa-Kwassa’ Sparked my desire to create and play music. Koenig and Tomson along with Rostam Batmanglij and come together to create, in my opinion, one of the most complex and articulate albums by an ‘indie band’.”
18. Everlasting Arms (Modern Vampires of the City, 2013)
“Oh my god… such a beautiful song, just listen to that bass line! Vampire weekend is one of the best new bands out there and their last album is a masterpiece! The opening, the bass, and the organ are what make this song beautiful.”
17. Walcott (Vampire Weekend, 2008)
“Am I the only one who gets a massive sense of wanderlust when listening to this song? I mean, yeah, it’s a pretty damn literal interpretation of the song, but hearing this makes me want to run away from everything and start my life anew. Something akin to what Cristopher Johnson McCandless did in Into The Wild.”
See more: Vampire Weekend Albums Ranked
16. Ottoman (Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist, 2008)
“This song is amazing, it just creates such an ambiance and keeps me happy the rest of the day after I listen to it. I love the upbeat start of the violins! Vampire weekend is awesome!
15. Harmony Hall (Harmony Hall, 2019)
“Just the guitar riff is enough to put this into the top 15, let alone the vibraphone that takes the song from slower to very upbeat-great song!”
14. Hudson (Modern Vampires of the City, 2013)
“This is definitely not one of their best songs, but it should be higher than 30! The lyrics, if you really take to time to examine them, are really clever and deep. Also, the minimalistic nature of the background music goes really well with the style of the song.”
13. Ya Hey (Modern Vampires of the City, 2013)
“God, wow, this song. Such depth, darkness and passion. Captures the essence of pure fervour of religion, nationalism, music, love, whatever and mixes it with the respectful quirkiness of VW. The beauty of this song is that it not only makes immense sense but that it can make different kinds of sense to different kinds of people.”
12. Diane Young (Modern Vampires of the City, 2013)
“Awesome song! So catchy, from the distorted chorus to the very last second, this song is definitely one of the bests of Vampire Weekend”
11. Hannah Hunt (Modern Vampires of the City, 2013)
“This song is so amazing, there’s nothing like it. I can’t help but think how simple it sounds with so much meaning. Love the piano solo and when he sings “If I can’t trust you, damn it Hannah, there’s no future. there’s no answer”. Beautiful.”
10. Cousins (Contra, 2010)
“This was their opening song when I saw them live and the energy the crowd had was amazing. Everyone was singing along to the extremely catchy lyrics and dancing to the beat and it was an outstanding start to the night! Definitely one of my favorites.”
9. White Sky (Contra, 2010)
“Catchy, rhythmic, and Ezra has amazing control over his voice. When I hear this song, and the whole Contra Album I imagine being on an tropical island surrounded by beautiful scenery and blue skies all around. Beautiful. My favourite Vampire Weekend Song (and off my favorite album)”
8. Giving Up the Gun (Contra, 2010)
“The beat of this song is so catchy! And the lyrics are a good match. They don’t necessarily go crazy with the pitch or anything, but they do a damn good job with this one.”
7. Horchata (Contra, 2010)
“Dope dope song. Definitely was one of the first of theirs I ever heard and have loved them since. This is an amazing song of theirs! I was introduced to them by step and so I started exploring and this song won me over!”
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6. Don’t Lie (Modern Vampires of the City, 2013)
“This song deals with ideas of mortality and fleeting youth in the most beautiful way possible. “Don’t lie, I want you to know, God’s loves die young, are you ready to go? ” It really sparks up a need to live life to its fullest. Since we’re not lying here, no, I’m not ready to go. Absolutely amazing.”
5. Step (Modern Vampires of the City, 2013)
“I’ve always thought that VW were a good band, but never really connected with what they were doing. It all sounded tight and poppy, but nothing hit me emotionally. I didn’t feel it. This song, “Step, ” changes that instantly. It blows me away every time.”
4. Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa (Vampire Weekend, 2008)
“I feel like I’m on an African safari ride with a beautiful girl sitting next to me and she knows I want her and the feeling is mutual.”
3. Holiday (Contra, 2010)
“So far the best song of the album “Contra”, indeed their political engagement is less present than other songs but still remains my favourite one.”
2. Oxford Comma (Vampire Weekend, 2008)
“I think the song is about a girl he is dating who is superficial, judgmental, and preoccupied with the social standards of being important (diction dripping of disdain, check your handbook, put on chapstick, tying his tie, paintings at UN). The speaker is telling the girl that she shouldn’t care so much about the small rules and standards of modern society (i.e. the Oxford Comma) and that she should be more open to the world (know your butler, don’t care about the accent). She should get to know her boyfriend rather than just being with him for the sake of saying she can have a boyfriend.”
1. A-Punk (Vampire Weekend, 2008)
“A-Punk is undoubtedly a 5 star song, but shame about the B side. Sometimes demo versions of songs show some growth in the song making, but the rehearsal version of Oxford Comma doesn’t shed light on earlier incarnations, it just sounds like it was recorded with a single fisher-price mic.”
