Allow me to open with a moment of honesty:
While I couldn’t resist taking advantage of a title that won’t be applicable again until the Fourth of July, it’s important for me to acknowledge that today’s musings are nothing more than one long love letter to Rostam Batmanglij, who goes by Rostam in his performance career.
However, the title in question isn’t a total non-sequitur. Rostam was a founding member of Vampire Weekend as a producer, singer, songwriter and more. He left the band in 2016 and has since released two full-length solo albums, as well as a few additional singles. (Good news: He still works with Vampire Weekend occasionally, so you don’t have to choose between him and Ezra Koenig.)
My favorite tracks of his are a bit more upbeat than a lot of Vampire Weekend’s music, with more synthesizers and electric guitar interjections. He’s also collaborated with a lot of other huge artists, which becomes evident through some of the sonic similarities in his own tracks.
Very simply, I think the vast majority of what Rostam touches turns to gold. Enjoy these nine hand-picked tracks he’s had a hand in creating throughout his (prolific, yet low-key) career.
Three true Rostam songs I love
4runner: My favorite Rostam song. His voice is smooth, the drums are soft, and the harmonica interjection is a subtle delight. It’s endlessly listenable.
Bike Dream: One of his more rock-inspired songs, the heavy bass makes it a really enjoyable listen (and somewhat different from a lot of his more light and airy tracks).
These Kids We Knew: In addition to the HAIM-adjacent guitar riffs, I appreciate the hopefulness toward action on climate change: The skies won’t take it no more, so we're gonna slowly pull the earth back together.
Three Rostam-era Vampire Weekend songs I love
Hannah Hunt: The voice filter and gratuitous guitar slides make the last minute of this song very fun.
I Think Ur A Contra: The way the vocals wander so freely, it almost sounds improvised… I can’t get enough.
Horchata: Tambourine! Bells! Flourishy strings!
Three more songs I love that were written and produced by Rostam
Water by Ra Ra Riot (feat. Rostam): I love it when a song sounds industrial. This is probably a love-it-or-hate-it kind of track, but the way it’s so mechanical and repetitive is totally hypnotic to me. It’s like the audio equivalent of a Rube Goldberg machine.
Friends by Francis and the Lights (feat. Bon Iver): I’m just very drawn to the vocal harmonies and the (mostly) stripped-down, new-age sound to this one.
Western Wind by Carly Rae Jepsen: CRJ is a perennially underrated pop mastermind and we all know it. Please add this one to your summer vibes playlist.