“I know that the world will come apart / I hope that the pain is gonna stop,” sings Rostam on the penultimate track from American Stories, his third solo album and first record in five years. It’s an appropriate sentiment given the current global political climate, but the wording is also vague and conflicting. Is it pessimistic? Is it hopeful? Perhaps it’s pretty much all of our duelling emotions while we’re trapped doomscrolling.
In fact, the very concept behind American Stories could hardly be more timely. The former Vampire Weekend member (full name Rostam Batmanglij) was born in Washington DC with family roots in Tehran, and after mining classical influences for previous albums, has now set his sights on the most American of genres:…