Vampire Weekend Releases New EP 40:42 with Goose, Sam Gendel

Vampire Weekend is back with a self-released EP titled 40:42. Their newest project follows their 2019 album Father of The Bride.

The EP reimagines a song off Father of The Bride titled “2021,” a short melancholic track in which frontman Ezra Koenig repeats, “2021, will you think about me?/ I could wait a year but I couldn’t wait three.” Now that the title year is upon us, the band has invited two artists to reimagine “2021,” with one stipulation: Turn the under-two-minute song into a track with a runtime of exactly 20:21.

The EP features Connecticut rock quintet Goose and Los Angeles jazz saxophonist Sam Gendel. Vampire Weekend has previously worked with Gendel, as he lent his talents to FOTB tracks “Spring Snow” and “Flower Moon.” While Goose hasn’t worked with the band before, the two groups have publicly praised each other in the past, with Koenig mentioning Goose on his Beats1Radio show Time Crisis.

Goose’s video sees the band jamming in a home lit with colored lights, adding a psychedelic feel to their interpretation of the track. Gendel’s video doesn’t feature the producer’s face, instead opting for a colorful visualizer as the 20-minute electronic jazz progresses with samples of ambient nature sounds and synths sounding straight out of a vintage videogame.

Watch the two covers of “2021” below, and revisit Vampire Weekend’s 2007 Daytrotter session further down. You can stream 40:42 here.