Vampire Weekend Set Release Date for Third LP

Vampire Weekend will release their long-awaited third album on May 7th, the band announced on Twitter. No title has been chosen for the record, which the band simply referred to as "LP3."

The band has been working on the follow-up to 2010's Contra for more than 20 months, frontman Ezra Koenig told Rolling Stone in a recent interview. It's the longest Vampire Weekend have ever spent on an album, with Koenig admitting, "There was a certain point where we kind of knew deep down that it didn't quite feel right. We knew it could be better." 

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After a few breakthrough writing sessions – including the one that produced "Unbelievers," which the band debuted on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in November – the group flew to Los Angeles to work with producer and longtime friend Ariel Rechtshaid, working in a studio built in the 1930s and filled with vintage gear. "Things that we might have found boring in the past, we've started to find more fresh," said Koenig. "This record has more piano and acoustic guitar and organ. But at the same time, that means we needed to find ways to flip it." 

Rostam Batmanglij, the other half of Vampire Weekend's core writing duo, added, "We've never wanted to be one of those bands that's just reviving something. I think with this album, we've had to be less self-conscious than ever."