The summer may be over, but that doesn’t mean it’s too late to catch up on the albums everyone was listening to on the way to the beach. If you missed all of the music festivals or didn’t have internet access to Spotify every waking moment, then maybe you didn’t hear the buzz on the latest releases. Fear not: Argus Arts has compiled a list of some of the albums we’ve been digging this summer, and we’re here to give you the run down on each of them.

“Modern Vampires of the City,” Vampire Weekend:

Questioning mortality is a daunting task, but doing it in a sexy voice is definitely the best approach. Thus is Vampire Weekend’s third album, “Modern Vampires of the City.” The album gives the New York band the opportunity to show off a more dynamic sound than ever before. The fast-paced irony of their first two albums is exchanged for a more sock-hop, 1950s-meets-hipster-Brooklyn tone for their upbeat songs, with the addition of some reflective but still engaging, softer tracks. The band’s skillful leap of faith into a new direction allows tracks like “Everlasting Arms” to shine. You can still hear the distinct organ-tone keyboard and fast guitar picks that defined the band before, but the maturity of the lyrics and composition allow the listener to appreciate the softer moments when things pause for a second.

The undertone on all of the tracks is definitely creepy, but not so much to scare you away. Koenig’s voice is nothing short of intoxicating, and you might find yourself intrigued by his comments on organized religion and death. The album truly comes together in the band’s hit single “Diane Young.” The play on “dying young” and comment about having “the luck of a Kennedy” cannot be missed, but as soon as you start singing along to the “baby, baby, baby” chorus, you start to realize that depressing contemplations can make you feel surprisingly good.

 

“The Wack Album,” The Lonely Island (TLI):

The kings of the SNL digital short prove in “The Wack Album” that they don’t need the late night comedy classic to have a good time. Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone are still making rhymes out of basically anything (see “I Don’t Give a Honk”) and making fun of a generation that continues to worship them anyway. The literal take of Drake’s iconic “YOLO” in the same titled track by TLI tells listeners to “be careful-o.” The group hits the mark not only by inventing their own words, but also through the TLI’s perfect ironic twists that makes hashtaggers laugh and those who make fun of hashtaggers laugh harder. Both horrific and delightful, the track “Semicolon” concludes with the revelation that TLI is actually showing examples of how to use a colon.

Besides invoking giggling in listeners, TLI also collaborates with the cream of the crop in music. Often these artists add to the joke, but even more often they add some beautiful vocals to the comedy. A standout is Robyn’s pretty riffs in the weirdly intense “Go Kindergarten.” A euphonic comedy with our favorite people? Our ears are happy.

 

“A Color Map of the Sun,” Pretty Lights:

You know how your teachers are always telling you, “It’s not about the finished product; it’s about the journey”? Derek Vincent Smith, the electronic music star who goes by Pretty Lights, apparently took that lesson to heart. “A Color Map of the Sun,” composed by Smith, is a compilation of live session funk and hip-hop compressed onto vinyl and sampled throughout electronic mixes. If you don’t like electronic music, then you’ll just want to listen to disc two, the live jams themselves, with some particularly standout bass lines. But if you’ve been to Electric Daisy and can appreciate some of the synthesis that is electro-hip-hop, you’ll recognize the dreamy creation of the mixes on disc one, and be impressed that it is in fact entirely Smith’s creation (not a guarantee in the electronic music world, in which collaboration and sampling are ever present).

Alternating between tracks from both discs seems like a peek into Smith’s composition process, which makes any listener appreciate the music a little more. No track stands out as particularly more enticing than another, but rather the album as a whole (or each disc separately) should be listened to continuously to achieve the entirety of the Pretty Lights experience. That’s not to say that the tracks don’t differ; “My Only Hope” definitely gives off more of the dorm-room-chilling vibe while “So Bright” could be heard at a Westco Rave. Either way, Smith is definitely catering to the college party demographic, and we like being catered to.

 

“Magna Carta Holy Grail,” Jay-Z:

Fun fact: Jay-Z revealed the cover art for the album next to one of the four remaining copies of the actual Magna Carta. Talk about getting real. The album clearly needed a grand entrance, since this is the hip-hop mogul’s first solo album since 2009 and his first album since becoming a father. With other big names like Justin Timberlake, Frank Ocean, Timbaland, and wifey Beyoncé collaborating on tracks, the album has a polished “we’ve done this before” feel while still staying fresh with incredible beats. The album has gotten mixed reviews throughout the summer: Some critics feel that Magna Carta is just Jay-Z showing off about how rich he is (particularly in “Picasso Baby,” about his impressive art collection), while others feel that Jay-Z is taking a more introspective approach with lyrics that face the conflicts of celebrity life and the demands of fatherhood (see “JAY Z Blue”). Either way, you can’t deny Jay-Z credit for hitting number one on the chart on his twelfth time around the block. He’s definitely still around for a reason, whether it’s for his talent, money, or a cynical combination of both is up to the listener to decide.

 

“Paradise Valley,” John Mayer:

If you thought the rustic style of Born and Raised was just as much of a phase for John Mayer as a celebrity diet, Mayer is determined to prove you wrong with Paradise Valley. The album shows that he’s no longer new to his life in Montana, and doesn’t seem to be forcing the aesthetic as he did in the previous album. Despite his dubious tabloid past, Mayer’s talent on the guitar cannot be denied, and it’s refreshing to hear it come through in relaxing bluegrass jam throughout the eleven tracks. “Who You Love” shows that not everything has changed: It features his celebrity girlfriend Katy Perry, a touch that got the masses talking. But if you put down the copy of People, you can hear that Perry and Mayer actually compliment each other beautifully and that there is definitely some sincerity in the lyrics.

Other collaborations include a shorter version of the first track, “Wildfire,” which features Frank Ocean on vocals. While Mayer’s opener makes you want to tap your foot and sing around the campfire (and strangely not feel too corny about that), the lyrics of the interlude version are much more powerful: You’ll be hearing Ocean croon “so gorgeous a man might cry” for days. Overall, if you’re willing to stop and look at the sky with John Mayer for a bit, then Paradise Valley is close to perfection. If you need things to move a little faster, then you might want to move along.