Song of the Week: Indie Royalty Big Thief Keep the Crown with “Vampire Empire”
The post Song of the Week: Indie Royalty Big Thief Keep the Crown with “Vampire Empire” appeared first on Consequence.
Song of the Week delves into the fresh songs we just can’t get out of our heads. Find these tracks and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist, and for our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, Big Thief return with a spellbinding live-favorite, “Vampire Empire”
Reigning indie rock royalty Big Thief have returned with a studio version of their recent live staple, “Vampire Empire.” It’s a pleasant-but-charged offering from the band, who are still in the midst of their tour in support of their stunning 2022 album, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You (get tickets here). After premiering it on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert back in March, they’re giving fans “Vampire Empire” this week, perhaps as a reminder of what these four are capable of.
“Vampire Empire” is a love song, but a love song that feels akin to the raw, burning sonics of their 2019 album, Two Hands. In fact, it’s a love song that has equal parts love and anger, adoration and contempt. There are loads of contradictory images in Adrienne Lenker’s surreal, naked lyricism: blood in the same bed as opening flowers, lighting matches in the snow, the desire for both surrender and control. Lenker circles around these toxic patterns with impressionist detail, arriving at the realization that she is “falling.” She is falling deeper in love? Perhaps. She is falling deeper into the harsh entanglement that the relationship thrives on? Probably.
Thus spawns the vampire empire metaphor, the way that pain and anguish, under the guise of intimate co-dependency, can feel both intoxicating and lethal. Despite James Krivchenia’s playful, tambourine-heavy trot, you can still feel the sticky heat in Lenker’s atmosphere, the charged undercurrent beneath her accented by Buck Meek’s scraping, empty strums in the chorus. There is life and death here, tiny feelings that stand up to big ones.
Lenker reaches a blistering peak in the final verse, and those powerful contradictions become carnal, furious confusions. She shifts from “I” statements to “You” statements in the second half of the third verse, working up to a fiery shout with, “You turn me inside out and then you want the outside in/ You spin me all around, then you ask me not to spin/ You say you want to be alone, and you want children/ You wanna be with me, you wanna be with him.” The band builds to a boiling point, and as they uproot themselves for one more chorus, they fall all together in a cathartic, almost joyous release.
It’s a powerful single from Big Thief, its simplicity made all the more affecting by Lenker’s fraught observations. This is a band with an extraordinary capacity to mine the spaces in between, to make the intangible and the indescribable illuminated with clarity and poise. In short, Big Thief are in their bag, and “Vampire Empire” is yet another thrilling example of their indie rock majesty.
— Paolo Ragusa
Associate Editor
Honorable Mentions
Sedona – “Touch and Go”
Sedona continues her alt-rock streak with the yearning, seductive “Touch and Go.” Similar to her excellent previous single “Domino,” the New York artist channels 2000s pop rock producers The Matrix, known for their work with Avril Lavigne, Liz Phair, and Hilary Duff. But nothing is overly sanitized or even family-friendly in “Touch and Go” — she bathes in the ecstasy of lust as her lover kisses off her makeup, requesting their devotion for just one night. It’s a brief-but-breezy entry for Sedona, and one that’s sure to keep your blood rushing. — P. Ragusa
Vagabon – “Do Your Worst”
After producing her self-titled 2019 album herself, Vagabon (Laetitia Tamko) teamed up with Vampire Weekend co-founder Rostam Batmanglij for the upcoming LP Sorry I Haven’t Called. The results so far have been stellar, and Tamko’s incisive lyrics and ear for hooks shines brighter than ever on “Do Your Worst.” Over a killer percussion section made from live drums over an electronic breakbeat, Tamko coos, “You turn me into someone I don’t fuck with/ I don’t like myself when I’m with you.” If dance-crying were a sport, “Do Your Worst” would be a go-to track for the Olympics. — Wren Graves
Citizen – “If You’re Lonely”
Along with the announcement of their forthcoming album Calling the Dogs, alt-rockers Citizen have returned with the rousing new single “If You’re Lonely.” It’s a statement of devotion from the band, decidedly guitar-forward and appropriately anthemic. “You and me were never going to be winners,” sings frontman Matt Kerekes before assuredly launching into the final chorus and reminding the subject “I know you will call me if you’re lonely.” It’s a heart-on-your-sleeve song, bursting with love and care, aimed at a lover, each other, and the band’s audience: If you’re ever lonely, Citizen will be there. — P. Ragusa
Egyptian Blue – “Skin”
The first synthetic pigment, a wonderfully vivid and dependable mix of calcium copper silicate, is today remembered for its inventors and called Egyptian blue. It’s a good name for the latest buzzing UK post-punk act, whose vibrant guitar rock ring out within a time-honored rock and roll tradition. “Skin” has sick riffs and apprehensive lyrics, as vocalist Andy Buss sings, “I don’t want to wear this skin anymore.” The bridge puts “Skin” into a blender, as thrashing guitars chop the listener to bits before Buss returns with the hook. “Skin” is mentally-destabilizing fun. — W. Graves
Cut Worms – “Living Inside”
“Living Inside” finds singer-songwriter Max Clarke (aka Cut Worms), uncertain about his summer romance. Was it real? In his head? As the season changes around him, he contemplates. His mind enters blissful nostalgia and is often interrupted by a crippling insecurity, the isolating effects of overthinking. But the track feels breezy, a nice unwinding that sounds like the last song at the dance. The warm guitar tones transport you back to the July beaches when everyone was smiling at you. Despite its melancholy core, Clarke’s tender voice hovers above it with an evident reverence to these memories. It seems to have been all worth it. — André Heizer
Song of the Week Single Artwork:
Big Thief's "Vampire Empire" Artwork
Sedona's "Touch & Go" Artwork
Vagabon's Sorry I Haven't Called Album Artwork
Egyptian Blue's A Living Commodity Album Artwork
Citizen's Calling All Dogs Album Artwork
Cut Worms' Cut Worms Album Artwork
Top Songs Playlist:
Song of the Week: Indie Royalty Big Thief Keep the Crown with “Vampire Empire”
Paolo Ragusa and Consequence Staff
Popular Posts
Sheryl Crow Rips Jason Aldean: "This is Not American... It's Just Lame"
Jason Isbell Challenges Jason Aldean to Write His Own Music: "That's What We Try in My Small Town"
10 Industrial Albums Ministry's Al Jourgensen Thinks Every Music Fan Should Own
Wiz Khalifa Throws Out First Pitch at Pirates Game While on Shrooms
