This Is Our Jam: Rostam (Of Vampire Weekend), “Wood”

Vampire Weekend’s music has an airtight economy of sound that few indie bands attempt. Tracks like “A-Punk” and “Cousins” are so efficiently executed it’s as if each razor sharp hook was laser cut by indie-rock robots. Even the more meandering songs on Contra, like “Diplomat’s Son,” have a way of feeling like they were obsessed over until each note had been glued in exactly the right spot. For his solo work, mult-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij, loosens up the formula.

“Wood” is a slow-burning (no pun intended), Indian-inspired, six-minute track with washes of midi sitar psychedelia and chamber pop strings. When Rostam sings, he sounds sleepy, like he’s just woken up from a nap somewhere humid and sunny. If David Byrne and Brian Eno have been Vampire Weekend’s most pronounced influencers, it follows to reason that "Wood" is Rostam’s My Life In The Bush of Ghosts. Taking an Eastern-inspired turn, he's created an infectiously catchy song, and given it some room to breath.