Only God Was Above Us is the fifth studio album by American indie rock band Vampire Weekend, released on April 5, 2024, through Columbia Records. It marks the third collaboration between the band and their longtime producer Ariel Rechtshaid.
It is also the first album recorded by the band as a trio of vocalist-guitarist Ezra Koenig, bassist Chris Baio and drummer Chris Tomson after the 2016 departure of keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij.
Background Ezra Koenig began to write the lyrics for Only God Was Above Us between 2019 and 2020, while primary recording sessions took place over the following years in Manhattan, Los Angeles, London and Tokyo. The album was co-produced by Koenig and the band's longtime collaborator Ariel Rechtshaid, with additional production by the band's drummer, Chris Tomson, and former band member Rostam Batmanglij. It was mixed by Dave Fridmann and mastered by Emily Lazar.
The project draws artistic inspiration from a 20th-century New York City aesthetic. The album's title is derived from the headline of a May 1, 1988 New York Daily News article, as shown in the album's artwork photographed by Steven Siegel. This article recounts the incident involving Aloha Airlines Flight 243, in which a structural failure caused the aircraft's roof to be torn off mid-flight. The phrase "Only God was above us" was quoted from one of the passengers.
In a press release, Only God Was Above Us was described as "direct yet complex", showcasing the band at its grittiest, most beautiful, and melodic. The first two singles from the album, "Capricorn" and "Gen-X Cops", were released on February 16, 2024, alongside two music videos.
Only God Was Above Us was released on April 5, 2024. To celebrate the release of the album, the band began the album's tour at the Moody Amphitheater in Austin, Texas on April 8, Koenig's fortieth birthday, during a total solar eclipse. During the tour's encores, they played improvised covers of songs requested by the audience.
Critical reception
Only God Was Above Us received acclaim from critics. On Metacritic, the album has a weighted average score of 88 out of 100, based on 23 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".
Pitchfork gave the album a score of 8.6 out of 10, as well as the site's "Best New Music" designation. The site's Matthew Strauss wrote in his review, "Only God Was Above Us is [also] the most honest album Vampire Weekend have made, an encapsulation of what the band does best, melodic and abstruse in Koenig's own masterful way."
Critics' rankings +Select year-end rankings for Only God Was Above Us Publication/critic Accolade Rank AllMusic AllMusic Best of 2024 Billboard Staff List: The 50 Best Albums of 202419BrooklynVegan Top 50 Albums of 202439Daily Mail Top 10 Albums of 20245Entertainment Weekly The 10 Best Albums of 2024 Far Out The 50 Best Albums of 202432God Is in the TV Albums of the Year for 202415The Guardian The 50 Best Albums of 202435The Independent The Best Albums of 2024, Ranked3Mondo Sonoro Los Mejores Discos Internacionales de 202414The Needle Drop Anthony Fantano's Top 50 Albums of 20249The New Yorker The Best Albums of 20249The New York Times Jon Pareles's Best Albums of 20243 Lindsay Zoladz's Best Albums of 2024 Obscure Sound Best Albums of 202419Our Culture Mag The 50 Best Albums of 202431Paste The 100 Best Albums of 202471 The Philadelphia Inquirer Best Pop Music Albums of 2024 Pitchfork The 50 Best Albums of 202426 PopMatters The 80 Best Albums of 202466Rolling Stone The 100 Best Albums Of 202443The Skinny The Skinny's Albums of 202414Slant The 50 Best Albums of 20246Stereogum The 50 Best Albums of 202437The Sunday Times The 25 Best Albums of 2024 — the Critics’ Choice, Ranked12Time Out The Best Albums of 20247Uncut Top 80 Best Albums of 202466Uproxx The Best Albums Of 2024 Steven Hyden's Favorite Albums Of 202417Variety The Best Albums of 2024 Vogue The 36 Best Albums of 2024
+Mid-decade critics' rankings for Only God Was Above Us Publication Accolade Rank Pitchfork 100 Best Albums of the 2020s So Far
Commercial performance The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 27, their first album to miss the top 20. It lasted a solitary week on the chart.
Track listing
Notes "Mary Boone" features a sample from "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)", written by Beresford Romeo, Caron Wheeler, Nellee Hooper and Simon Law, and performed by Soul II Soul featuring Wheeler.
Personnel Vampire Weekend Ezra Koenig – vocals (all tracks), electric guitar (1–3, 5, 6), acoustic guitar (1, 3, 5, 10), piano (1–8, 10), 12-string acoustic guitar (2), organ (2, 6), synth bass (4), synthesizer (4, 9), keyboards (4, 9), guitar (9) Chris Tomson – drums (1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9) Chris Baio – bass (1, 3, 7, 9, 10)
Additional musicians
Ariel Rechtshaid – drum programming (1–4, 8), electric guitar (1–3, 10), synthesizer (1–9), keyboards (1, 2, 4–9), drums (2, 4, 6, 9, 10), upright bass (2), bass (3, 5–7, 9), harmonica (3), synth bass (4), drum machine (5), Farfisa (5), slide guitar (6, 10), guitar (7, 9), conga (8), tambourine (8), percussion (8), glockenspiel (10) Matt DiMona – electric guitar (2) Miles Mosley – upright bass (2) Henry Solomon – baritone saxophone (2), tenor saxophone (2) Isabel Hagen – soprano voice (2) Jay Mumford – drums (3), additional drums (10) Hamilton Berry – cello (4) Dev Hynes – drums (5) Eric Gorfain – violin (5) Daphne Chen – violin (5) Michelle Rearick – cello (7) Eliza Bagg – choir (8) Jodie Landau – choir (8) Luc Kleiner – choir (8) Kathryn Shuman – choir (8)
Production
Ariel Rechtshaid – production, orchestral arrangement (1–4, 6, 8–10), recording Ezra Koenig – production, orchestral arrangement (1–4, 6, 8–10) Rostam Batmanglij – production (6) Chris Tomson – production (7) Will Canzoneri – orchestral arrangement (1–4, 6, 8–10), recording Dave Fridmann – mixing, Dolby Atmos mixing, additional engineering Michael Fridmann – Dolby Atmos mix engineering, additional engineering Emily Lazar – mastering Matt DiMona – recording Kyle Parker Smith – recording Dave Schiffman – recording Chris Baio – additional engineering
Artwork Nick Harwood – art direction Steven Siegel – "Subway Dreams" photos Michael Schmelling – band photos
Charts + Chart performance for Only God Was Above Us Chart (2024) Peakposition Australian Albums (ARIA) 72 Japanese Digital Albums (Oricon) 30 Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan) 37 US Top Rock & Alternative Albums (Billboard) 8
Notes
References