“After putting in work on Frank Ocean's Blonde ("Seigfried," "Ivy"), Solange Knowles' A Seat at the Table ("F.U.B.U.") and various collaborative projects, ex-Vampire Weekend MVP Rostam Batmanglij has finally gotten around to releasing a proper solo LP of his own. And, admirably, he's refused to choose between his former group's Ivy League-aesthete indie rock and modern vernacular electro-pop, optin”
“The intimate, elliptical solo debut from producer and former Vampire Weekender gorgeously traces the stories and sounds of his past.”
“Since leaving Vampire Weekend last year, producer-songwriter extraordinaire Rostam Batmanglij has been dipping his finger in a number of musical pies, collaborating with the likes of Frank Ocean and Carly Rae Jepsen. It's clear now, however, with the release of his first solo effort Half-Light, that Rostam saved his best ideas for himself. Sonically, Half-Light is a spiritual successor to 2013's”
“Rostam Batmanglij's eclectic debut casts him in a new light”
“When Rostam Batmanglij shared an iPhone note in early 2016 saying that he’d left Vampire Weekend, it had been coming. For years he’d been active outside the New York band he co-founded – sharing the odd track, and producing for the likes of Charli XCX and Carly Rae Jepsen. “My identity as a songwriter and producer,” he wrote, “needs to stand on its own.” So here it is: his debut solo album – a co”
