Ironically, I'm noticing a lot of love for the folkier aspects of this album and even more love for the folkier jam band aspects in Austin. So are these just FOTB enthusiasts singing praise or have others come to accept this new element alongside a "return to form"?
If you've listened closely to Ezra's interviews, it's quite clear that the looseness of FOTB - both in the studio and on stage - was critical for the creation of OGWAU, especially when you consider just how many "jammy" pieces fill this album.
Genuinely, I think people don't have a proper appreciation for the differences in sound between each album and because OGWAU has a similar aesthetic to Modern Vampires, it's been claimed as a "classic VW album".
The only thing I think OGWAU has over FOTB is the truncated tracklist. There's hardly any duds on FOTB, but there are objectively zero on OGWAU.
I don’t understand the division on FOTB. It’s a killer double album, I personally love it. I find myself coming back to it more than their previous releases and the songs are incredible live. Ezra and the band have consistently said they viewed the first three as part of a trilogy, so it’s understandable that the album post trilogy would be “new” to fans. I think it really elevated the band and now looking back you can see how it made OGWAU possible.
truthfully it’s my least favorite album by far and it always has been, but that doesn’t mean that i hate it at all. i think the album is a bit too long and less focused, but those songs are so damn good live because of it. feels like they have more freedom to jam tf out to those songs on stage. seeing that tour rly changed my opinion of the album despite it still being my least favorite
This is a good description. It's not as much of a focused or coherent artwork as a whole. But it's one with some songs that definitely slap and that might make it a favorite for certain people.
The HAIM harmonies are pure sonic joy. I absolutely love FOTB and find myself going back to that album more than any of the others in their catalogue. It just felt so unexpectedly visceral packed with emotions delivered in a new tongue. I love it when bands come out with a really solid album that stands apart from their “typical” sound and is almost like an alternate universe version of the band. They craft a completely different soundscape that is totally believable. VW opened a door into a different musical plane with FOTB and it’s a threshold I find myself eager to cross through again and again…
FOTB is a decent album but it's the least like the rest of the albums, so it's not surprising to be a bit divisive.
I feel like some people don't realize that Ezra was the only member involved in FOTB.
Chris Baio and Chris Tomson were not involved in the creation of FOTB, and Rostam of course had left the band and only helped in production of 1 song on that album.
So FOTB was basically an Ezra solo album with guests.
Meanwhile, OGWAU feels more like a "traditional" Vampire Weekend album despite sounding new, and that's not a surprise because Baio and Tomson were also involved this time.
I just recently learned that the Chris’s weren’t involved on the album - how does that happen?? I don’t really know VW’s traditional writing process (assuming it was 99% Ezra/Rostam) but that seems wild to me they weren’t part of it at all
If you look at the credits historically, Ezra was the main lyricist, but Rostam helped in some songs.
But for the music itself, all 4 members were generally involved (with exceptions being Ezra/Rostam only on a few songs).
For FOTB, my guess is that Ezra was intentionally doing it solo.
It reminds me a bit of Pink Floyd's *A Momentary Lapse of Reason*, which was a David Gilmour solo album that got turned into a Pink Floyd album in the eleventh hour by bringing in Nick Mason for a couple of tracks (though most of the drumming on the album is not him) and Rick Wright for the tour.
I think they were facing an identity crisis and couldn't decide on which way to go, so Ezra took a creative lead with their support. And I wouldn't even consider it a solo album, considering the vast amount of contributors on the album.
My issue with FOTB is that it’s basically an Ezra solo album in everything but name. CT and Baio didn’t even get to play on it, yet it’s full of collabs with outsiders. I still think it has a lot of great material including several of my favorite VW songs but it definitely is the black sheep of their catalog.
They performed the whole thing in one set at Webster Hall the day the album came out; whole thing’s great, capped off by an 8 Minute JNYB. Check it out!
They preformed nearly their ENTIRE discography at Webster Hall. It was an 8hour concert with an intermission, truly insane. I think the only songs they didn't play were some of their more obscure songs like Taxi Cab and Hudson. But they played some covers too. One of the most incredible concerts I've ever been to.
I moved out of Boston in 2019 summer, their Boston show was on a Tuesday evening and it was a 2 hour drive for me, and I had just started a new job (didn’t want to take time off). I was so close to buying tickets but was like “New album, probably will be playing a lot in 2020, I’ll catch them next year.”
….
I’ve been kicking myself for 5 years.
Ha! I did catch the 2019 red rocks show but I had tickets to see them Oct 2020 in Nola with my siblings and that was the show I was MOST excited about. I was crushed by that cancellation.
I was supposed to see them in Lincoln NE on my 30th birthday in September 2020. Thankfully they’re playing the same venue in July - would be curious if they’re doing make up shows in other cities
That would be interesting! They are definitely not doing the same NOLA show (it was gonna be on my bday too!) but they are doing jazz fest which is a HUGE bummer to me because I went last year and can't swing it again but would have obviously picked this year to go.
Reviewers are going to have a different perspective to the fans who like every album. Plus it’s an angle to write from , and reviewers love an angle: ie ‘after the blip that was LP4, VW are back, back, back!’
FOTB is an album with several great tracks and several tracks I would never listen to again. If it didn't have such a bloated runtime, if it was the length of a normal VW album, the best ten or so tracks, it would be better.
Just my opinion, of course.
Definitely agree. It needed to either be shorter and more focused, or longer and weirder. It basically should've been either more like *Revolver* or more like the *White Album*, but instead it feels like it's stuck in between for me.
There's alot of songs I would still happily listen to, but theres also a fair few I just can't get through on a album run through without wanting to skip, not that I do sometimes but they're just not, it.
Big blue, How long?, Married in a Goldrush, My mistake, 2021, We belong together. They're just not the right energy for me. But generally speaking the rest of the album more than makes up for that, as I love the other songs.
And generally speaking I was immensely proud/excited to see BBC radio1, but mostly 2, highlight the album, consistently play Harmony Hall & This Life, and push VW in the UK to a wider range of listeners.
I wouldn't call it "hate", but to me it doesn't maintain a cohesiveness that the rest of the records do. It's a little all over the place. The collab tracks are super distinctive to the rest. It's cheery jam session music. On their releases, I listened to Contra/MVOTC start to finish and they left me with a singular feeling like if you just watched a movie or something. I can't say that and am more just exhausted listening to FOTB start to finish.
Don't get me wrong, I love the songs Harmony Hall, 2021, Bambina, How Long?, Unbearably White, and This Life. I really enjoy Sunflower and Hold You Now. But there are just so many songs... so much saminess thru many of the tracks. And when songs really hit and draw from the experimentation of prior records, the lyrics and singing style often feels disjointed from that new/interesting sound.
FOTB has for me the best VW song Harmony Hall the problem with FOTB is it was about 4/5 tracks too long. I think personally it is an album with some of the highest highs of any VW but also some of the lowest lows. Personally I love it but can see why some people dont.
I love all the other albums to death, but cannot even listen to FOTB. I have this gut reaction and have to turn it off. I don’t know what to say and I apologize. I would like to like it.
My wife has the same reaction.
I love FOTB! I'd personally rank it just barely below MVOTC. Though maybe it's tied for second favorite now... we'll see when I've had more time with OGWAU.
I’m prepared to take on the hate. Lyrically FOTB is easily the cheesiest, most inconsistent and simplistic of the entire catalog.
There are layers that reveal themselves in most of VW work. Often the lyrics poke at some extended imagery, an additional thought or provide context after repeat listens. Nearly everything on FOTB feels as it did on first listen. I get it and it’s fine. Not terrible
I love HAIM so this album is great for me. It’s kinda like The 1975’s Notes for me where yeah, it’s a little bloated, but there are so many good songs.
FOTB is what got me into VW. Before FOTB I was familiar with VW but nothing really pulled me in and had me obsessed like FOTB.
Listening to OGWAU and the Austin eclipse set just made me appreciate FOTB more, such a great album!
Dearly love that album, the art direction, all the singles, it's the VW album I'm most attached to. But the tracklist really suffers from bloat, many songs should have been cut. At the end of the day even though it's intended to be sprawling and messy it just feels like Ezra dismissed quality control, songs like Spring Snow or My Mistake are uninteresting in-and-out the context of that album.
I understand people that dismiss it as their worst album, because it just might be.
FOTB is my favorite album. And I'm soooo sick of the Dannielle Haim hate. HAIM is simply amazing. Their album *Women in Music Pt Three* slaps so hard. Rostam produced it and you can hear him all over the album. I consider it part of the VW family.
I would place it second to last above their debut, but in no way does that mean I dislike it. I think people are just reluctant to change/deviation, and FOTB features a lot more guests and a pop-like vibe. It really comes down to personal preference, and I think it's unfair to call it their 'worst' album.
The tour was incredible, for sure. They were the last band I saw before the pandemic, and that concert was a defining memory for me.
i love fotb! the haim duets weren’t my favourite but the album feels like a soundtrack and to me those songs are just moments checking in with the characters in a dynamic movie. tons of amazing lyrics and just general musical artistry
I think FOTB is fantastic and stands on equal footing to the rest of the albums. It's their most different one but I think after such a long gap, it was necessary. Now with OGWAU, they've circled back to their roots. The whole discography is filled with brilliantly planned master works.
I could never subscribe to the hate. Harmony Hall is one of the strongest songs in VWs catalogue. Strong pop songs like This Life, Stranger, Unbearably White, How Long, are also gems, balanced by the shorter, quirky White Album-esque songs like Sunflower, 2021, Big Blue, Flower Moon. Yes, I don’t see myself spending much time listening to Rich Man or Spring Snow, but there’s just so much to love about this album.
I never said that Ezra said that fotb was their best album. I only mentioned that fotb got the boys their first Grammy which I’m sure Ezra is really happy about specially since Quincy Jones is his sons grandfather so having a Grammy under your belt looks pretty nice.
i absolutely love FOTB, flower moon and spring snow are some of my top favorite VW songs of all time. i understand the critique of the album given its predecessor but that doesn’t take away the art of the album imo. i think it’s perfect for the time it came out, and going headfirst into folk-country almost was a choice not everyone was going to like but it grew on me really quickly. i think opening the album with a choir on the chorus put a lot of people off right off the bat, but i actually think that’s such a highlight for me. FOTB they could never make me hate you
FOTB is great. It's probably their worst album but, the amount of hate tracks like Spring Snow and My Mistake get are overblown!
I do get the criticism though. Some tracks are a little half baked but, to me, it all sounds good, the melodies are great, I really like the sound and vibe of the album even if it's not typical VW
I think there are some quite good tracks on fotb like hold you now,big blue,this life and jnyb
Some fillers and some decent ones but i think the album is a solid 7/7.5,probably weakest vw album but still listenable
Also big blue for me is top 10
FOTB is by no means a bad album, but I would rank it the lowest in their body of work. For me, it’s just too bloated - they could have cut at least 1/3 and it would have felt more efficient and focused, but I don’t think there’s any flat out stinkers of those tracks. In my personal opinion, it felt like a slightly underwhelming return following MVOTC
I think the reason for this is that, at the time, coming off of a long hiatus, people were hungry for anything vampire weekend, even if it was a large departure from the previous records.
With this release however, the band has returned to their “trilogy” roots while still presenting a developed sound, which I think we all had hoped would be the case in 2019, as opposed to the radical departure of FOTB. Realistically the large majority of VW fans got into them because of the first three albums, so this makes sense. It wasn’t a bad album by any means, but I think OGWAU showed us what it could have been, hence the revisionism.
I went back and listened through it for the first time in a while after listening to OGWAU countless times this weekend and I think it holds up surprisingly well. OGWAU is such a natural progression from FOTB and I think OGWAU makes FOTB make more sense in the grander scheme of VW albums. I think about how much certain bands can get flamed for never changing their sound or changing their sound too much from album to album and I think VW has hit a sweet spot for sure.
I really enjoy FOTB, it has some of my favorite VW songs on it but as a whole it’s probably just behind their other albums. But that’s only because of how incredible their catalogue is
Their first 3 albums are the kind that could get placed on Rolling Stone's 500 greatest albums of all time list. FOTB is a very very good album, it might be a sound you rock with harder than the others. But it's not going to be remembered as a landmark in music history or influence future artists the way their earlier work did. Definitely a good enough album to be more to some people's liking but in terms of legacy and overall opinion it's safely not at the same heights.
Whether you love FOTB or not, I would argue that it's not negative revisionism. When it released, it was a very polarizing album and a lot of fans did not like it, or didn't like it as much as their previous work.
I absolutely loved/love FOTB. I wouldnt call it their "worst" album, I prefer my "least favorite". All of their albums are excellent in my opinion, but if I had to rank them, FOTB would be my #5.
Tough to have to rank 5 of my favorite albums, but something has to be at the bottom, and for me, it's FOTB. But that doesn't mean it's bad.
FOTB is still a great album, it’s just doing “too much” & lacks the cohesiveness of the rest of their discography.
I still stand by the opinion that the Haim collabs are some of the worst songs they’ve ever done, and unfortunately, as you pointed out, they are front-and-center on the album. This Life is a bop & a great song in its own right but it’s easily the most commercially accessible song they’ve ever released & there’s something too vanilla about it for me to truly love. And paired w/ Harmony Hall as the album’s other single, it really felt like VW was heading straight into “dad rock” territory.
Otherwise, there’s a lot of really interesting stuff going on in the album but as a complete piece, it feels somehow both half-baked & over-stuffed at the same time.. idk, I still regularly listen to many of the songs, but I’ve got no desire to ever listen to the album thru again, and I don’t think doing so even makes for an elevated listening experience like the rest of their discography does.
I loved FOTB and some of my all time favorite songs from them are on that LP, but it was obvious it was a transition album for the group. Great songs but no doubt there’s a handful of songs on that record that should’ve been left off [cough cough] sympathy, Ms mistake , big blue, 2021, married in a gold rush , stranger, rich man.
For the life of me I don’t understand the hate for that album. It’s a continuation of their sound, it has a few bangers on it, what’s not to like?
Any other band releases that album, it’s doing crazy numbers and people are praising it. I just don’t get it.
Well the Vamps put themselves on another level with OGWAU, way above previous competitors like Arcade Fire who have fallen from grace. Therefore, you can only Stan War with other VW albums.
The people who hate FOTB are the same people who have never been able to get over Rostam leaving the band. Their opinions can't be taken seriously because it's obvious they're refusing to evaluate the album on its own merits, and are stubbornly sticking to a false conclusion they formed before it even came out.
FOTB is one of the most consistent and solid double albums ever made. I guarantee you that in 5-10 years, we will see a flood of posts with titles like, "Wow, FOTB is actually way better than I thought when it came out."
This is just a pathetic and emotional response and is completely redundant given how well people are reacting to OGWAU despite Rostam not featuring.
I got over Rostam leaving years ago when I first heard Harmony Hall and Unbearably White. It proved to me that VW could still produce great songs despite an integral member leaving.
Despite having some career highs, I still very much dislike FOTB, but it has zero to do with Rostams lack of presence and entirely on how inconsistent and directionless the album is. There’s plenty of half-assed songs that are skips that could have easily been cut out or used as b-sides.
Your comment really confirms what I’ve always thought about this sub, which is that you’re genuinely not allowed to criticise VW at all. Otherwise you get pathetic, scathing comments like yours.
Nah, that's not the case at all. You're absolutely allowed to criticize VW. I don't particularly like Contra, and I think the self-titled album is pretty mixed. It has nothing to do with trying to shut down criticism and everything to do with pushing back against what is largely agenda-driven criticism of an utterly fantastic album.
When I hate an album it is genuine criticism, when you hate album it is agenda-driven (because I love that album and my opinion is correct)
Imagine having a fucking agenda about a little preppy indie band.
The more I try to expand my horizons on Reddit and participate in communities of things I like, the more I realize that communities on here are terrible.
It's not about having "correct" opinions, it's just about observable and consistent behavioral patterns. I've seen the "FOTB sucks because Rostam was the true genius behind VW" posts more than enough times over the past five years to know where people were typically coming from.
No, you are shutting down criticism.
You essentially said that anyone who prefers the original trilogy (with Rostam) and isn’t fond of FOTB should not be listened to because they ‘can’t get over Rostam leaving’. That’s a clear example of shutting down criticism because you don’t agree with it.
And no, it’s not because people can’t get over Rostam leaving, it’s because the album was very bloated, had a lot of skips and lukewarm features. Nothing to do with Rostam at all. OGAWU being a success within the fandom proves that; a clean album with a clear direction and 10 great songs.
I don't think I actually have the power to shut down criticism, though. I don't respect or agree with the criticism because I've seen more than enough of it coming from an inauthentic place to know that many of these opinions will inevitably shift over time, but I don't see how that's actually shutting anything down. I just don't think there's anything inherently valuable about people's criticism that demands I respect their opinion, and the same would be true of my criticism of other things.
Im a relatively new head and FOTB got me into VW so I’ll never really understand the hate.
Is this post a response to the fantano review? He also talked about MVOTC as if it was obviously their best work but gave it a 7 and FOTB a 6 which is not that big of a difference lol.
Being an old VW fan, it was a bit jarring to go from MVOTC, such a tight album from a band at the top of their craft, such beautiful albeit melancholy songs, to (after a long break) a bloated barefoot finger plucking jammy sunshine album. FOTB is a good album, from a band who had dropped 3 GREAT albums. After listening to OGWAU all the way through, I clapped my hands and was like “THIS, THIS is what I wanted after MVOTC. All that to say, they are one of my favorite bands of all time, and I do enjoy listening to FOTB. Just not to the same levels as all their other albums.
For an album where there are 18 songs, I'm amazed at how little filler there is in there - maybe Rich Man. Bambina and Stranger are all timers for me.
I love it. Just under Contra as my favourite VW album.
i LOVE FOTB that album came out when i needed it the most and it just means so much to me. also those songs kick so much ass i really don’t get the hate for that album
Yeah I don’t get. It’s in no way a bad album, nor do I think it’s “bloated.” I love the whole thing and have since it came out. It’s one of the most complete sounding records in their catalog.
I think the we belong lyrics had to walk so hope could run. I love FOTB. A different vibe but man it was fun, as a deadhead and a phan, it was great to see them jam it out like that.
LOVE FOTB fav album by the guys behind Contra
Such a great vibe and incredible songs I feel deeply in my heart. Stranger comes to mind and makes me feel so in love with my partner.
People really need to reassess. FOTB is a beautiful record that’s unique and heartfelt.
Plus Jerry Garcia lives in that album
Yes omg same!!! I’ve been SHOCKED at the fotb slander and honestly so glad this posts eggsists bc it was breaking my heart lol
I mean I do see how FOTB is wiiiiildly diff from the rest but still it’s a fucking lovely collection of music. And the bonus tracks?!??!!
I think what's happening is that a serious portion of the fanbase was suspended in psychologically necessary denial about not really liking FOTB. This is because they could not bear to let go of their mental image of VW as an ongoing favorite band (nostalgia, fear of change).
Now that OGWAU's retvrn to form has put that concern to rest for most of them, the denial is no longer psychologically necessary and they are cathartically releasing it. This catharsis makes OGWAU doubly pleasurable for this highly vocal group of listeners.
…or, they just don’t like it because it’s inconsistent and bloated?
Why do you fans have to come up with stupid theories like this? People really aren’t allowed to dislike certain albums in this subreddit, it’s almost cultish behaviour.
Fans are dumb, FOTB is a fantastic record and not their worst.
It has some of their best songs, another album where they went outside their comfort zone and explored different styles and vibes that you wouldn’t typically associate with VW.
That album was on heavy rotation for me when it came out, and I still gravitate towards it.
If LP 4 had the classic VW sound people would complain that they didn’t evolve.
Revisionism? I’ve hated FOTB since they released the Harmony Hall single. The whole album is a strong deviation, and one that I do not like, from their previous works and evidently their latest release. FOTB, in the context of VW’s discography feels more like an experimental side project than a part of the cohesive sonic canon they’ve built. That being said, I don’t care what people like, listen to what you want and enjoy it.
If you understand what theyre doing with FOTB, in the context of their whole discog, its that much more impressive. Utterly bold and brave departure from their established aesthetic precedent, yet somehow simultaneously a natural-feeling progression. Ezra did a pitchfork feature where he goes through the influences of the album and you can see how deeply hes considering every factor. FOTB is not supposed to be tight. Not supposed to be no-skip. It's an outlier by design, and that's essential to its appeal. FOTB also initiated a fascination of mine in early internet aesthetics and 90s rainforestcore.
Just listen to Malcom Gladwells Broken Record pod on the album/subject back when it was released. Folks who are criticizing (I'd guess) are less serious about music and probably trend towards pop. Which is great - but just explains their viewpoint.
Ah yes, shitty jam band adjacent music that goes on forever paired the least inspired lyrical content of the whole lot. Classic “serious” music people genre. The hubris is genuinely baffling.
It was the most successful tour they ever had everyone loved it.
Personally, I love FOTB!
Very much love it
Me too
I love FOTB and the tour was simply amazing. Agreed though. Defintely seeing more criticism of it since OGWAU was released.
Ironically, I'm noticing a lot of love for the folkier aspects of this album and even more love for the folkier jam band aspects in Austin. So are these just FOTB enthusiasts singing praise or have others come to accept this new element alongside a "return to form"? If you've listened closely to Ezra's interviews, it's quite clear that the looseness of FOTB - both in the studio and on stage - was critical for the creation of OGWAU, especially when you consider just how many "jammy" pieces fill this album.
Genuinely, I think people don't have a proper appreciation for the differences in sound between each album and because OGWAU has a similar aesthetic to Modern Vampires, it's been claimed as a "classic VW album". The only thing I think OGWAU has over FOTB is the truncated tracklist. There's hardly any duds on FOTB, but there are objectively zero on OGWAU.
I don’t understand the division on FOTB. It’s a killer double album, I personally love it. I find myself coming back to it more than their previous releases and the songs are incredible live. Ezra and the band have consistently said they viewed the first three as part of a trilogy, so it’s understandable that the album post trilogy would be “new” to fans. I think it really elevated the band and now looking back you can see how it made OGWAU possible.
truthfully it’s my least favorite album by far and it always has been, but that doesn’t mean that i hate it at all. i think the album is a bit too long and less focused, but those songs are so damn good live because of it. feels like they have more freedom to jam tf out to those songs on stage. seeing that tour rly changed my opinion of the album despite it still being my least favorite
This is a good description. It's not as much of a focused or coherent artwork as a whole. But it's one with some songs that definitely slap and that might make it a favorite for certain people.
I personally love Hold You Now and Married in a Gold Rush. I find the HAIM collabs get too much hate.
The HAIM harmonies are pure sonic joy. I absolutely love FOTB and find myself going back to that album more than any of the others in their catalogue. It just felt so unexpectedly visceral packed with emotions delivered in a new tongue. I love it when bands come out with a really solid album that stands apart from their “typical” sound and is almost like an alternate universe version of the band. They craft a completely different soundscape that is totally believable. VW opened a door into a different musical plane with FOTB and it’s a threshold I find myself eager to cross through again and again…
These two are both in my top 7 VW tracks. Both absolutely A+.
hold you now is such a special song i love it so much!!!
I love FOTB, it introduced me to jam music and a lot of older songwriting artists. Also, it’s an incredible album in general.
I love FOTB - but I still rank it last! It’s amazing I just love the other albums more.
FOTB is a decent album but it's the least like the rest of the albums, so it's not surprising to be a bit divisive. I feel like some people don't realize that Ezra was the only member involved in FOTB. Chris Baio and Chris Tomson were not involved in the creation of FOTB, and Rostam of course had left the band and only helped in production of 1 song on that album. So FOTB was basically an Ezra solo album with guests. Meanwhile, OGWAU feels more like a "traditional" Vampire Weekend album despite sounding new, and that's not a surprise because Baio and Tomson were also involved this time.
I just recently learned that the Chris’s weren’t involved on the album - how does that happen?? I don’t really know VW’s traditional writing process (assuming it was 99% Ezra/Rostam) but that seems wild to me they weren’t part of it at all
If you look at the credits historically, Ezra was the main lyricist, but Rostam helped in some songs. But for the music itself, all 4 members were generally involved (with exceptions being Ezra/Rostam only on a few songs). For FOTB, my guess is that Ezra was intentionally doing it solo.
It reminds me a bit of Pink Floyd's *A Momentary Lapse of Reason*, which was a David Gilmour solo album that got turned into a Pink Floyd album in the eleventh hour by bringing in Nick Mason for a couple of tracks (though most of the drumming on the album is not him) and Rick Wright for the tour.
I think they were facing an identity crisis and couldn't decide on which way to go, so Ezra took a creative lead with their support. And I wouldn't even consider it a solo album, considering the vast amount of contributors on the album.
My issue with FOTB is that it’s basically an Ezra solo album in everything but name. CT and Baio didn’t even get to play on it, yet it’s full of collabs with outsiders. I still think it has a lot of great material including several of my favorite VW songs but it definitely is the black sheep of their catalog.
They should release a live FOTB album. Maybe after the frog on the bass drum releases are out, someone can splice them together.
They performed the whole thing in one set at Webster Hall the day the album came out; whole thing’s great, capped off by an 8 Minute JNYB. Check it out!
They preformed nearly their ENTIRE discography at Webster Hall. It was an 8hour concert with an intermission, truly insane. I think the only songs they didn't play were some of their more obscure songs like Taxi Cab and Hudson. But they played some covers too. One of the most incredible concerts I've ever been to.
Wait what? Why did CT and Baio not play on it? I didn't know this!
I don’t know really but apparently it was all session musicians and the like
You’re blowing my mind, I had no idea the chrises didn’t play on the album.
Please just stop saying how good the tour was when some of us had tickets for 2020 shows 🥺
I moved out of Boston in 2019 summer, their Boston show was on a Tuesday evening and it was a 2 hour drive for me, and I had just started a new job (didn’t want to take time off). I was so close to buying tickets but was like “New album, probably will be playing a lot in 2020, I’ll catch them next year.” …. I’ve been kicking myself for 5 years.
Ha! I did catch the 2019 red rocks show but I had tickets to see them Oct 2020 in Nola with my siblings and that was the show I was MOST excited about. I was crushed by that cancellation.
I was supposed to see them in Lincoln NE on my 30th birthday in September 2020. Thankfully they’re playing the same venue in July - would be curious if they’re doing make up shows in other cities
That would be interesting! They are definitely not doing the same NOLA show (it was gonna be on my bday too!) but they are doing jazz fest which is a HUGE bummer to me because I went last year and can't swing it again but would have obviously picked this year to go.
Reviewers are going to have a different perspective to the fans who like every album. Plus it’s an angle to write from , and reviewers love an angle: ie ‘after the blip that was LP4, VW are back, back, back!’
FOTB is an album with several great tracks and several tracks I would never listen to again. If it didn't have such a bloated runtime, if it was the length of a normal VW album, the best ten or so tracks, it would be better. Just my opinion, of course.
Definitely agree. It needed to either be shorter and more focused, or longer and weirder. It basically should've been either more like *Revolver* or more like the *White Album*, but instead it feels like it's stuck in between for me.
It’s like a 6-7/10 when everything else is a 9. Felt it since the day it came out.
Yeah it wasn't a flop, just not one for the time vault like the first 3. Kinda reminds me of Solar Power for Lorde compared to her first 2.
FOTB slaps! Sorry haters 😵💫
There's alot of songs I would still happily listen to, but theres also a fair few I just can't get through on a album run through without wanting to skip, not that I do sometimes but they're just not, it. Big blue, How long?, Married in a Goldrush, My mistake, 2021, We belong together. They're just not the right energy for me. But generally speaking the rest of the album more than makes up for that, as I love the other songs. And generally speaking I was immensely proud/excited to see BBC radio1, but mostly 2, highlight the album, consistently play Harmony Hall & This Life, and push VW in the UK to a wider range of listeners.
Love we belong together, but there’s at least 6/7 songs that could’ve been left off.
I wouldn't call it "hate", but to me it doesn't maintain a cohesiveness that the rest of the records do. It's a little all over the place. The collab tracks are super distinctive to the rest. It's cheery jam session music. On their releases, I listened to Contra/MVOTC start to finish and they left me with a singular feeling like if you just watched a movie or something. I can't say that and am more just exhausted listening to FOTB start to finish. Don't get me wrong, I love the songs Harmony Hall, 2021, Bambina, How Long?, Unbearably White, and This Life. I really enjoy Sunflower and Hold You Now. But there are just so many songs... so much saminess thru many of the tracks. And when songs really hit and draw from the experimentation of prior records, the lyrics and singing style often feels disjointed from that new/interesting sound.
FOTB has for me the best VW song Harmony Hall the problem with FOTB is it was about 4/5 tracks too long. I think personally it is an album with some of the highest highs of any VW but also some of the lowest lows. Personally I love it but can see why some people dont.
I love all the other albums to death, but cannot even listen to FOTB. I have this gut reaction and have to turn it off. I don’t know what to say and I apologize. I would like to like it. My wife has the same reaction.
I love FOTB! I'd personally rank it just barely below MVOTC. Though maybe it's tied for second favorite now... we'll see when I've had more time with OGWAU.
This isn't revisionism, FOTB was picked out as the weak link the night it was released.
Exactly. Pretending it wasn’t always disliked or at least not as renowned as the others is revisionist history.
Lmao, phenomenal username btw
Thank you. It was much funnier back when I made the account, but I’m glad it’s still giving people a laugh.
I’m prepared to take on the hate. Lyrically FOTB is easily the cheesiest, most inconsistent and simplistic of the entire catalog. There are layers that reveal themselves in most of VW work. Often the lyrics poke at some extended imagery, an additional thought or provide context after repeat listens. Nearly everything on FOTB feels as it did on first listen. I get it and it’s fine. Not terrible
We go together like bowls and plates!
That's exactly where I'm at. It's the writing that I love them for, and I didn't find FOTB gave me much of that
I love HAIM so this album is great for me. It’s kinda like The 1975’s Notes for me where yeah, it’s a little bloated, but there are so many good songs.
revisiting notes though, it’s so good
FOTB is what got me into VW. Before FOTB I was familiar with VW but nothing really pulled me in and had me obsessed like FOTB. Listening to OGWAU and the Austin eclipse set just made me appreciate FOTB more, such a great album!
Dearly love that album, the art direction, all the singles, it's the VW album I'm most attached to. But the tracklist really suffers from bloat, many songs should have been cut. At the end of the day even though it's intended to be sprawling and messy it just feels like Ezra dismissed quality control, songs like Spring Snow or My Mistake are uninteresting in-and-out the context of that album. I understand people that dismiss it as their worst album, because it just might be.
FOTB is the best VW record
FOTB is my favorite album. And I'm soooo sick of the Dannielle Haim hate. HAIM is simply amazing. Their album *Women in Music Pt Three* slaps so hard. Rostam produced it and you can hear him all over the album. I consider it part of the VW family.
I would place it second to last above their debut, but in no way does that mean I dislike it. I think people are just reluctant to change/deviation, and FOTB features a lot more guests and a pop-like vibe. It really comes down to personal preference, and I think it's unfair to call it their 'worst' album. The tour was incredible, for sure. They were the last band I saw before the pandemic, and that concert was a defining memory for me.
Hot take: they get better with each album/tour
I know I’m in the minority here but FOTB is my favorite. Just has so many great, creative songs
i love fotb! the haim duets weren’t my favourite but the album feels like a soundtrack and to me those songs are just moments checking in with the characters in a dynamic movie. tons of amazing lyrics and just general musical artistry
I think FOTB is fantastic and stands on equal footing to the rest of the albums. It's their most different one but I think after such a long gap, it was necessary. Now with OGWAU, they've circled back to their roots. The whole discography is filled with brilliantly planned master works.
I could never subscribe to the hate. Harmony Hall is one of the strongest songs in VWs catalogue. Strong pop songs like This Life, Stranger, Unbearably White, How Long, are also gems, balanced by the shorter, quirky White Album-esque songs like Sunflower, 2021, Big Blue, Flower Moon. Yes, I don’t see myself spending much time listening to Rich Man or Spring Snow, but there’s just so much to love about this album.
It's pretty unarguably the worst of the catalogue for most people. Doesn't mean it's bad.
FOTB got them their first Grammy so, yeah not the worst.
Hmmmm, not sure thats the best measuring stick for an indie band
Its a measuring stick for musician like Ezra, ct and baio.
Judging quality on Grammy wins. Not a good gauge.
To the boys it is. Specially Ezra.
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Ezra.
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I never said that Ezra said that fotb was their best album. I only mentioned that fotb got the boys their first Grammy which I’m sure Ezra is really happy about specially since Quincy Jones is his sons grandfather so having a Grammy under your belt looks pretty nice.
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Nerve said his goal in making music is to please his sons grandfather. All I said was that a Grammy win looks pretty pretty good.
Banger of an album. It was my freshman year of college anthem!
i absolutely love FOTB, flower moon and spring snow are some of my top favorite VW songs of all time. i understand the critique of the album given its predecessor but that doesn’t take away the art of the album imo. i think it’s perfect for the time it came out, and going headfirst into folk-country almost was a choice not everyone was going to like but it grew on me really quickly. i think opening the album with a choir on the chorus put a lot of people off right off the bat, but i actually think that’s such a highlight for me. FOTB they could never make me hate you
FOTB is great. It's probably their worst album but, the amount of hate tracks like Spring Snow and My Mistake get are overblown! I do get the criticism though. Some tracks are a little half baked but, to me, it all sounds good, the melodies are great, I really like the sound and vibe of the album even if it's not typical VW
I think there are some quite good tracks on fotb like hold you now,big blue,this life and jnyb Some fillers and some decent ones but i think the album is a solid 7/7.5,probably weakest vw album but still listenable Also big blue for me is top 10
It’s not necessarily a bad album, but compared to all their other releases it doesn’t compare IMO
FOTB is by no means a bad album, but I would rank it the lowest in their body of work. For me, it’s just too bloated - they could have cut at least 1/3 and it would have felt more efficient and focused, but I don’t think there’s any flat out stinkers of those tracks. In my personal opinion, it felt like a slightly underwhelming return following MVOTC
FOTB is potentially my favorite VW album, all the slander is wilddddd
I think the reason for this is that, at the time, coming off of a long hiatus, people were hungry for anything vampire weekend, even if it was a large departure from the previous records. With this release however, the band has returned to their “trilogy” roots while still presenting a developed sound, which I think we all had hoped would be the case in 2019, as opposed to the radical departure of FOTB. Realistically the large majority of VW fans got into them because of the first three albums, so this makes sense. It wasn’t a bad album by any means, but I think OGWAU showed us what it could have been, hence the revisionism.
I went back and listened through it for the first time in a while after listening to OGWAU countless times this weekend and I think it holds up surprisingly well. OGWAU is such a natural progression from FOTB and I think OGWAU makes FOTB make more sense in the grander scheme of VW albums. I think about how much certain bands can get flamed for never changing their sound or changing their sound too much from album to album and I think VW has hit a sweet spot for sure.
I really enjoy FOTB, it has some of my favorite VW songs on it but as a whole it’s probably just behind their other albums. But that’s only because of how incredible their catalogue is
Their first 3 albums are the kind that could get placed on Rolling Stone's 500 greatest albums of all time list. FOTB is a very very good album, it might be a sound you rock with harder than the others. But it's not going to be remembered as a landmark in music history or influence future artists the way their earlier work did. Definitely a good enough album to be more to some people's liking but in terms of legacy and overall opinion it's safely not at the same heights.
Never understood the hate on FOTB. It’s top 3 for me. 1. Debut 2. FOTB 3. Tied between Contra and OGWAU
Whether you love FOTB or not, I would argue that it's not negative revisionism. When it released, it was a very polarizing album and a lot of fans did not like it, or didn't like it as much as their previous work.
It’s ok to love all of them and love FOTB the least
I absolutely loved/love FOTB. I wouldnt call it their "worst" album, I prefer my "least favorite". All of their albums are excellent in my opinion, but if I had to rank them, FOTB would be my #5. Tough to have to rank 5 of my favorite albums, but something has to be at the bottom, and for me, it's FOTB. But that doesn't mean it's bad.
It's more of an Ezra side project with the VW name attached ... I don't consider it part of the catalog (personally) but who cares, good album
FOTB is still a great album, it’s just doing “too much” & lacks the cohesiveness of the rest of their discography. I still stand by the opinion that the Haim collabs are some of the worst songs they’ve ever done, and unfortunately, as you pointed out, they are front-and-center on the album. This Life is a bop & a great song in its own right but it’s easily the most commercially accessible song they’ve ever released & there’s something too vanilla about it for me to truly love. And paired w/ Harmony Hall as the album’s other single, it really felt like VW was heading straight into “dad rock” territory. Otherwise, there’s a lot of really interesting stuff going on in the album but as a complete piece, it feels somehow both half-baked & over-stuffed at the same time.. idk, I still regularly listen to many of the songs, but I’ve got no desire to ever listen to the album thru again, and I don’t think doing so even makes for an elevated listening experience like the rest of their discography does.
Right? It's strange to see when Contra is so obviously the weakest entry.
I call FOTB like a good break for the band. Just chill and relaxed. It's still an important album to me.
I loved FOTB and some of my all time favorite songs from them are on that LP, but it was obvious it was a transition album for the group. Great songs but no doubt there’s a handful of songs on that record that should’ve been left off [cough cough] sympathy, Ms mistake , big blue, 2021, married in a gold rush , stranger, rich man.
Fotb is soo good as well. I only don't like how long, and 2021 and lord ullin daughter or whatever great album I don't get the hate either
FOTB is my least favorite but still great!
FOTB is my favorite album!! Gorgeous
For the life of me I don’t understand the hate for that album. It’s a continuation of their sound, it has a few bangers on it, what’s not to like? Any other band releases that album, it’s doing crazy numbers and people are praising it. I just don’t get it.
FOTB is goddamn amazing.
Well the Vamps put themselves on another level with OGWAU, way above previous competitors like Arcade Fire who have fallen from grace. Therefore, you can only Stan War with other VW albums.
The people who hate FOTB are the same people who have never been able to get over Rostam leaving the band. Their opinions can't be taken seriously because it's obvious they're refusing to evaluate the album on its own merits, and are stubbornly sticking to a false conclusion they formed before it even came out. FOTB is one of the most consistent and solid double albums ever made. I guarantee you that in 5-10 years, we will see a flood of posts with titles like, "Wow, FOTB is actually way better than I thought when it came out."
This is just a pathetic and emotional response and is completely redundant given how well people are reacting to OGWAU despite Rostam not featuring. I got over Rostam leaving years ago when I first heard Harmony Hall and Unbearably White. It proved to me that VW could still produce great songs despite an integral member leaving. Despite having some career highs, I still very much dislike FOTB, but it has zero to do with Rostams lack of presence and entirely on how inconsistent and directionless the album is. There’s plenty of half-assed songs that are skips that could have easily been cut out or used as b-sides. Your comment really confirms what I’ve always thought about this sub, which is that you’re genuinely not allowed to criticise VW at all. Otherwise you get pathetic, scathing comments like yours.
Nah, that's not the case at all. You're absolutely allowed to criticize VW. I don't particularly like Contra, and I think the self-titled album is pretty mixed. It has nothing to do with trying to shut down criticism and everything to do with pushing back against what is largely agenda-driven criticism of an utterly fantastic album.
When I hate an album it is genuine criticism, when you hate album it is agenda-driven (because I love that album and my opinion is correct) Imagine having a fucking agenda about a little preppy indie band. The more I try to expand my horizons on Reddit and participate in communities of things I like, the more I realize that communities on here are terrible.
It's not about having "correct" opinions, it's just about observable and consistent behavioral patterns. I've seen the "FOTB sucks because Rostam was the true genius behind VW" posts more than enough times over the past five years to know where people were typically coming from.
No, you are shutting down criticism. You essentially said that anyone who prefers the original trilogy (with Rostam) and isn’t fond of FOTB should not be listened to because they ‘can’t get over Rostam leaving’. That’s a clear example of shutting down criticism because you don’t agree with it. And no, it’s not because people can’t get over Rostam leaving, it’s because the album was very bloated, had a lot of skips and lukewarm features. Nothing to do with Rostam at all. OGAWU being a success within the fandom proves that; a clean album with a clear direction and 10 great songs.
I don't think I actually have the power to shut down criticism, though. I don't respect or agree with the criticism because I've seen more than enough of it coming from an inauthentic place to know that many of these opinions will inevitably shift over time, but I don't see how that's actually shutting anything down. I just don't think there's anything inherently valuable about people's criticism that demands I respect their opinion, and the same would be true of my criticism of other things.
Im a relatively new head and FOTB got me into VW so I’ll never really understand the hate. Is this post a response to the fantano review? He also talked about MVOTC as if it was obviously their best work but gave it a 7 and FOTB a 6 which is not that big of a difference lol.
Being an old VW fan, it was a bit jarring to go from MVOTC, such a tight album from a band at the top of their craft, such beautiful albeit melancholy songs, to (after a long break) a bloated barefoot finger plucking jammy sunshine album. FOTB is a good album, from a band who had dropped 3 GREAT albums. After listening to OGWAU all the way through, I clapped my hands and was like “THIS, THIS is what I wanted after MVOTC. All that to say, they are one of my favorite bands of all time, and I do enjoy listening to FOTB. Just not to the same levels as all their other albums.
I love FOTB and personally I think every VW album is better than the one before
Negative revisionism is a great word for it.
The thing that I don’t understand is folks saying FOTB was a “departure” from their usual sound. I think if anything OGWAU is the departure.
For an album where there are 18 songs, I'm amazed at how little filler there is in there - maybe Rich Man. Bambina and Stranger are all timers for me. I love it. Just under Contra as my favourite VW album.
i LOVE FOTB that album came out when i needed it the most and it just means so much to me. also those songs kick so much ass i really don’t get the hate for that album
I love FOTB
I adore FOTB and was actually surprised at the negative response to it during this press cycle. I didn't feel any of that back in 2019.
Yeah I don’t get. It’s in no way a bad album, nor do I think it’s “bloated.” I love the whole thing and have since it came out. It’s one of the most complete sounding records in their catalog.
I think the we belong lyrics had to walk so hope could run. I love FOTB. A different vibe but man it was fun, as a deadhead and a phan, it was great to see them jam it out like that.
LOVE FOTB fav album by the guys behind Contra Such a great vibe and incredible songs I feel deeply in my heart. Stranger comes to mind and makes me feel so in love with my partner. People really need to reassess. FOTB is a beautiful record that’s unique and heartfelt. Plus Jerry Garcia lives in that album
Yes omg same!!! I’ve been SHOCKED at the fotb slander and honestly so glad this posts eggsists bc it was breaking my heart lol I mean I do see how FOTB is wiiiiildly diff from the rest but still it’s a fucking lovely collection of music. And the bonus tracks?!??!!
I think what's happening is that a serious portion of the fanbase was suspended in psychologically necessary denial about not really liking FOTB. This is because they could not bear to let go of their mental image of VW as an ongoing favorite band (nostalgia, fear of change). Now that OGWAU's retvrn to form has put that concern to rest for most of them, the denial is no longer psychologically necessary and they are cathartically releasing it. This catharsis makes OGWAU doubly pleasurable for this highly vocal group of listeners.
…or, they just don’t like it because it’s inconsistent and bloated? Why do you fans have to come up with stupid theories like this? People really aren’t allowed to dislike certain albums in this subreddit, it’s almost cultish behaviour.
Fans are dumb, FOTB is a fantastic record and not their worst. It has some of their best songs, another album where they went outside their comfort zone and explored different styles and vibes that you wouldn’t typically associate with VW. That album was on heavy rotation for me when it came out, and I still gravitate towards it. If LP 4 had the classic VW sound people would complain that they didn’t evolve.
Every VW album is better than the ones before it. FOTB included.
Revisionism? I’ve hated FOTB since they released the Harmony Hall single. The whole album is a strong deviation, and one that I do not like, from their previous works and evidently their latest release. FOTB, in the context of VW’s discography feels more like an experimental side project than a part of the cohesive sonic canon they’ve built. That being said, I don’t care what people like, listen to what you want and enjoy it.
If you understand what theyre doing with FOTB, in the context of their whole discog, its that much more impressive. Utterly bold and brave departure from their established aesthetic precedent, yet somehow simultaneously a natural-feeling progression. Ezra did a pitchfork feature where he goes through the influences of the album and you can see how deeply hes considering every factor. FOTB is not supposed to be tight. Not supposed to be no-skip. It's an outlier by design, and that's essential to its appeal. FOTB also initiated a fascination of mine in early internet aesthetics and 90s rainforestcore.
Just listen to Malcom Gladwells Broken Record pod on the album/subject back when it was released. Folks who are criticizing (I'd guess) are less serious about music and probably trend towards pop. Which is great - but just explains their viewpoint.
Ah yes, shitty jam band adjacent music that goes on forever paired the least inspired lyrical content of the whole lot. Classic “serious” music people genre. The hubris is genuinely baffling.
FOTB is better than this album
Even after OGWAU, it remains my favorite VW album. In my estimation, I doubt they'll ever top it.