Review: Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

Posted on 3 May 2008 | 3 Comments

Filed Under: Album Reviews, Indie Rock

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Yeah, I’m (again) the last person in the world to jump on the Vampire Weekend bandwagon, but their self-titled debut album is just so damn infectious that it simply can’t be ignored. I ignored all the initial hype, I missed them on SNL, and I was basically an idiot for ignoring them as long as I did. For the three people left that don’t know anything about Vampire Weekend, the band plays bright and bouncy indie pop that sounds like a cross between Paul Simon and The Shins and sounds perfect on a sunny Sunday morning with a cup of coffee or even on a Saturday night with pint of Hop Juice in hand. Interesting, melodic, fun, and easily accessible, this is a band and an album that will undoubtedly top a ton of critics and fan’s best of 2008 lists.

I love this album and have no problem telling all y’all that. I have (however) been reading some comments regarding Vampire Weekend that have criticized those who dare to recognize an indie-pop band from New York City as having any sort of “world music” influence. I don’t know what the issue is. Sure, the band appropriates certain tones and instrumentation from Afro-pop and other so-called “world music,” but all I hear is a nifty little American indie-rock band. I guess that they aren’t so little anymore since when my dad is name-dropping Vampire Weekend, they have most certainly escaped the realm of the obscure.

The effortless and instantly hummable melodies of Vampire Weekend make it an album that is almost too easy to love, but even after listening to the record dozens of times, it holds up and is (perhaps) better than it was on the initial listen. Something about Vampire Weekend just takes hold and won’t let go. It sounds familiar but fresh, perhaps due in part to the “world music” influences the band incorporates alongside the typical guitar-bass-drums indie rock core. Chocolate ice cream is always going to be similar whether your eating Haagen-Daas or the stuff out of the little plastic cups with the cardboard paddle scoops, right? They may taste different and be of differing quality but both are recognizable as chocolate ice cream. Now, you can add peanut butter, toffee, raspberries, or any number of other things to that ice cream and then it gets interesting and (ultimately) better. That’s sorta what Vampire Weekend is like; chocolate ice cream with goodies mixed throughout.

MP3 | Vampire Weekend – Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa Vampire Weekend
MP3 | Vampire Weekend – The Kids Don’t Stand A Chance Vampire Weekend

It came from the nineties (Vol. 17) Review: Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate) - When The Sea Became A Giant