Vampire Weekend Almost Done With New Album

Vampire Weekend have been working on their third album for a while now, but there's finally some light at the end of the tunnel. The band has confirmed that it is nearly finished with the record, which will be released in the spring.

The group's last album, 'Contra,' came out in 2010. They said that juices were flowing, so they began working on the follow-up the minute they wrapped 'Contra.' But as is the case with creative types, they were slapped with a case of writer's block, and the progress on the album slowed significantly. Crafting albums is no small feat and no easy task. Singer and guitarist Eza Koenig acknowledged that the band flew out of the gate, only to cool its jets midway through the race.

"Making every record is a process full of tough times," Koenig told NME.com. "Invariably that's how it is for us. When we started to work a few days a week and really pick things up we immediately had maybe two or three songs that we thought were perfect for this record, a new vibe, quality songwriting. We felt great about them for two or three months, but then after a while you realize, 'OK, we have two or three great songs and we need 11 or 12.'"

That realization also affected the band on another level. Koenig accepted that stakes are higher this time because it's their crucial third album, which means pressure and expectations are high from both fans and the band itself. So that "slow period" began to bum him out even more.

"Then the depression sets in," Koenig said. "You don't want to have three great songs and then write nine s---ty ones. It's like the bar keeps getting higher and higher and there's all these moments where you feel like you have no idea what to do … For our third record it's only getting harder, but that kinda feels like how it should be."

Working with producer Ariel Rechtshaid in Los Angeles helped Vampire Weekend loosen the songwriting brakes and lift them out of their lull.

"To bring somebody new in definitely changed the dynamic," Koenig admitted. "After two albums of doing everything ourselves, we're very lucky that we found somebody who, personality-wise and vibe-wise, almost felt like they could be a member of the band."