The shortest track from Vampire Weekend’s 2019 album Father Of The Bride is “2021,” which clocks in at 1 minute and 38 seconds. Now, though, the group has given the brief song some extra attention with their new project, 40:42, which includes two reimaginings of the song that are each 20 minutes and 21 seconds long.
Vampire Weekend recruited jazz saxophonist Sam Gendel and jam band Goose to help them out, tasking them with making new versions of the songs that run for the specified length. Sure enough, Gendel’s rendition is a spaced-out and jazzy affair while Goose takes things in the jammy direction that Vampire Weekend have flirted with in recent years.
This is the first new release in a few months from Vampire Weekend, who released the Live From Florida EP back in mid-2020. Meanwhile, Brandon Flowers of The Killers recently admitted that Father Of The Bride inspired his band to put their all into their latest album, Imploding The Mirage. He said, “That really helped to propel us into the right direction and realize that we couldn’t just phone in The Killers’ record. We had to do better. I told Ezra [Koenig] that. I’m grateful for people like him.”
Watch both performances above and stream 40:42 below.