Ezra Koenig has revealed that his band plans to support Bernie Sanders in the 2020 US presidential race.

The Vampire Weekend frontman, who releases ‘Father Of The Bride’ with his band on May 4, is looking to back Sanders again after the Democrat’s failed bid in 2016.

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“If we can help out, sure,” Koenig said of Sanders in a new interview with The Times. “I like to believe he’s less of a sociopath than a lot of people who want to be president, but it’s hard to be as excited as I was in 2016. That was the first time I felt deeply about a candidate.”


Koenig continued: “I also subscribe to the belief that Trump doesn’t represent an upheaval so much as a moment of clarity about the way things have always been. Which isn’t to say there aren’t uniquely horrifying things happening, but there were under every administration.”

Elsewhere, Koenig agreed with the interviewer that the band’s forthcoming record is upbeat but disagreed that it is hopeful, citing “depressive phases” in his life.

“Hope might be a bit far,” he said. “Because, like most people, I have been through depressive phases of my life, and many times I’ve had stretches when I didn’t exactly feel like waking up in the morning, that overbearing sense that life is filled with senseless pain. And now, it’s not that I don’t believe that — it’s more that I’m teaching myself that if life is meaningless, you could actually have a sense of humour about it.”

Vampire Weekend played a handful of shows in London earlier this month. At their Islington Assembly Hall gig on March 23 the band performed ‘A-Punk’ three times in a row.


After the first performance of the song, Koenig said: “Hmmmm that song is too short.” After the second, he added: “These shows are essentially attended rehearsals, we’ve got a lot of shows to play this year. I’m sorry, but…” before playing the song again.

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And after the second, Koenig said: “Okay, now we’re tired. That’s the most times we’ve ever played it – we wanted to beat the record.”