10. Souveneer ft. Daphne Gale — Diplomat’s Son
There is, to my knowledge, only one full-length Vampire Weekend covers album to date. It is by the LA indie-folk artist Mason Maggio, a.k.a. Souveneer. At the end of 2020, he released Don’t Call Me a Contra, tackling every track on Vampire Weekend’s 2010 sophomore album Contra. The timing makes me assume this was a quarantine project; if so, it was an excellent use of his time indoors. He has a new guest singer on almost every track, but it works beautifully as a cohesive whole. Honestly I could have picked any of the tracks for this list, but, for song diversity, I went with this beautiful finger-picked version of deep cut “Diplomat’s Son” guided by Daphne Gale’s ethereal vocals. – Ray Padgett
9. Kami Maltz — This Life
If you’re going to attempt an acapella cover it’s probably a given that you are going to have a great voice, right? But somehow Kami Maltz’s vocals in her acapella cover of Vampire Weekend’ “This Life” still managed to catch me off guard. Yes, the instrumentation she does is impressive, but eventually all the work she’s done to approximate the original backing track just fades into the background, because when she layers her voice in multiple waves of harmonies, there’s not much reason to focus on the rest. The track has so many little snippets that drop in and out, almost like guitar riffs, and each one keeps the flow of the song moving forward and a song that seems simple on the surface worth multiple listens. – Mike Misch
8. Hot Chip & Peter Gabriel — Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
The original “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” has an African rhythm that would doubtless have pricked up Peter Gabriel’s ears. The transplanting of that sound to a coastal New England setting would surely have appealed to someone of his wit. But the crowning touch of hearing the lyrics “Feels so unnatural / Peter Gabriel too” had to have been the tipping point for him deciding to cover it. No surprise, he nails it. With English synthpoppers Hot Chip backing him, he manages to take ownership away from not one but two countries. And his singing “And it feels so unnatural / To sing your own name” is both true and very, very funny. – Patrick Robbins
7. Chamberlin — Giving Up the Gun
Vermont indie-folk band Chamberlin didn’t last long, but they released some killer music in their short time. The Cabin Covers EP, which raised money for their state after Hurricane Irene’s devastation, tackled everyone from Kanye West to Passion Pit. It sounds Mumford-y, which was the style at the time, but if you were a fan of that sound (I was and am), Chamberlin did a terrific job of it. For their Vampire Weekend cover, they picked Contra single “Giving Up The Gun.” That’s the one with Jake Gyllenhaal and RZA in the music video. It works beautifully as an indie-folk ballad, with singer Mark Daly belting some serious high notes. Proving that everything comes back around again, a decade-plus later this sound is suddenly back in style, purveyed by their fellow Vermonter Noah Kahan. – Ray Padgett
6. Kristen Korkowski — Horchata
This is a stripped-down cover with just the slightest hint of acoustic guitar accompanying the vocalist; no xylophone and old-school video game noises from the original to be found here. The resulting effect is less perky, with the airy vocals ebbing and flowing, sounding almost far away at times. However, when the main vocals are bolstered by background ones, the main vocals swell, emboldened by that little extra added strength. – Sara Stoudt
5. Goose — 2021 (January 5th, to be exact)
Vampire Weekend originally released the song “2021” on its 2019 album Father of the Bride. A short tune, it clocks in at just under two minutes. The band later commissioned two artists, jazz saxophonist Sam Gendel and the jamband Goose, to record their own 21-minute versions of the song, which were released together in early 2021 as an EP titled 40:42. For the first three minutes, Goose’s version plays like a fairly conventional cover as they bounce their way through the song’s romantic lyrics. The group then launches into a spirited instrumental jam for the next 16 minutes. With about two minutes remaining, they return to the source, singing the lyrics again, only this time it’s more mournful and bittersweet – reminding everyone of the weight of the year before 2021. – Curtis Zimmermann
4. Phosphorescent — Ya Hey
Vampire Weekend, and Ezra Koenig in particular, have such a well-defined and recognizable sound. It can be tough to create a cover that doesn’t bring to mind the original, classic sound of the source material. On the other hand, Matthew Houck, better known as Phosphorescent, has his own very unique style, which is employs to great effect on this live in-studio recording. With just a whisper of a guitar part, light backing vocals and serene piano, we get the classic cracking, reverb-drenched vocals Phosphorescent has made a career out of. The emotive style and quiet accompaniment push the lyrics to the front, giving the listener a chance to interpret the meaning with a little more space than in the original. It’s a great example of how to turn a song on its head and create something new and equally beautiful. – Mike Misch
3. Lauren O’Connell — Unbelievers
The original version of “Unbelievers” is organ-heavy, a bit stompy, and full of lighthearted harmonies. But have you ever wondered what would happen if you slowed the tune down, added wine glasses, and turned it into a solo cover?
That’s exactly what singer-songwriter/solo artist Lauren O’Connell did. In this cover, the artist recreated “Unbelievers” in a multi-frame style video. From the distorted wine glasses (that happen to sound exactly like guitars!) to her ethereal vocal performance, crisp drums, and hand percussion, this surprising rendition is groovy, creative, and refreshingly different from the rest. – Aleah Fitzwater
2. Angelique Kidjo ft. Ezra Koenig — I Think Ur a Contra
This cover comes from a PBS performance which features many collaborations between Kidjo and other performers including this duet cover. The original has lots of vocal runs that take precision, but Kidjo takes them on effortlessly. She and Koenig trade off verses and take turns doing the extra little licks at the end of “contra” in the choruses; when one of them goes up, the other goes down. It’s a faithful cover until the very end when we get a little taste of African fusion as Kidjo switches languages, and Koenig gamely sings along. The percussionist on the bongo drum set lets it rip to close out the song. – Sara Stoudt
1. Ska Tune Network ft. Jeff Rosenstock — A-Punk
Vampire Weekend’s debut album was pretty clearly a 2000s-indie take on Afropop, but it turns out that maybe this album should have been a different genre altogether! “A-Punk” is an infectiously catchy and bouncy tune and in the hands of the Ska Tune Network it becomes clear that it was actually a ’90s ska song the whole time. The syncopated guitars of the original fit perfectly with Ska Tune’s horns that open the song with a blast. By the time the song gets to the line “lily-white hat!”, shouted in the appropriate style of punk ska, the transformation is complete. The chorus takes a wonderfully unexpected turn, suddenly rolling in with slurring horns and drums at half time. By the time Ska Tunes wrap up this stellar cover with a quick “pick it up!” you’ll be sold on the idea of an all-ska Vampire Weekend cover band. – Mike Misch
