A seemingly breezy album Bride helped me confront impending parenthood – and bond with my daughter when she arrived
Vampire Weekend has always been there for me. The evolution, on their first three albums, from the youthful naivety of campus life to late-20s world-weariness and existential angst, was in step with my own rhythms. Dissecting Ezra Koenig’s layered lyrics, I was always able to learn something about who I was at the time. But it wasn’t until their 2019 album Father of the Bride that their
music shaped who I became.
Shortly after its release, the news that I was to become a father undid my relatively carefree existence. My partner and I, two hopeless romantics living in different cities, would need to turn our idealised relationship into a more grounded plan. Life had taught her to adapt to change with determination and almost undiscerning optimism; my approach was one of avoidance and dread. I was gripped by fears of losing myself, my freedom and precious image – and turning into a dad. When the FOTB tour came to
London that November, I clung desperately to the album’s sunny sounds. As in the music, there were stormy feelings lurking just beneath the surface.