Vampire Weekend have confirmed that they have completed work on their "organic" and "cohesive" forthcoming third album, and that it will be released on May 6.
The band posted a message on Twitter this afternoon (January 22) which reads simply: "LP3 complete. May 7th." Following a link posted by the group's record label, XL Recordings, leads to an updated official website revealing UK and US release dates.
The LP will be the band's first new material since 2010's 'Contra' and has been in the works for more than 20 months. Although they say they have been mentally composing the record "since the we handed in [2010's] 'Contra'", when they actually began writing tracks in producer and multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij's Brooklyn apartment, they found a creative flurry at the beginning soon hit a wall.
"Making every record is a process full of tough times" singer and guitarist Ezra Keonig told NME. "Invariably that's how it is for us. When we started to work a few days a week and really pick things up we immediately had maybe two or three songs that we thought were perfect for this record, a new vibe, quality songwriting. We felt great about them for two or three months, but then after a while you realize, 'OK, we have two or three great songs and we need 11 or 12'."
He added: "Then the depression sets in. You don't want to have three great songs and then write nine shitty ones. It's like the bar keeps getting higher and higher and there's all these moments where you feel like you have no idea what to do…For our third record it's only getting harder, but that kinda feels like how it should be."
After a stint writing in Martha's Vineyard, they then headed out to LA last summer with producer Ariel Rechtshaid, who most recently has been working with Major Lazer, Usher and Snoop Lion. Speaking about working with Rechtshaid, Keonig said: "to bring somebody new in definitely changed the dynamic. After two albums of doing everything ourselves, we're very lucky that we found somebody who, personality-wise and vibe-wise, almost felt like they could be a member of the band. "
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