Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend

February 24, 2008

By Mr. Marlowe

**** / ****

Released 2008

Paul Simon has crash-landed to earth and been taken hostage by The Walkmen. What does this mean? Somehow, some way, The Vampire Weekend is the biggest indie band on the planet.

Vampire Weekend’s self-titled debut is a modern re-incarnation of 80s pop-ska minus the horns: willfully peppy, musically varied, cleverly contemplative, and with a dash of irony. It is understated happy music built for toe tapping, mellow swaying, and lightin’ up the barbecue for some tasty burgers and talk of greener pastures. You won’t rock out when Vampire Weekend plays, but you just might fall in love.

Electronic keyboard and staccato drumming are the meat and potatoes of Vampire Weekend’s music, setting a whimsical tone and providing a sturdy platform for Ezra Koenig’s reggae inspired, indie-rock grounded vocal stylings. Violins come and go, the hooks fly, and a breezy tone permeates Vampire Weekend’s preppy New England meets New York City name-dropping, inside-joke storytelling. This isn’t irony soaked melodrama, however, but rather genre crossing brilliance.

Vampire Weekend describe their music as “Upper West Side Soweto.” Normally, this would come off as egotistical hair-splitting. With Vampire Weekend, however, their music actually is good enough, varied enough, and unique enough to be worthy of its own exclusive nomenclature. There are hints of everything from Peter Gabriel to Talking Heads, world beat to playful pop, and many styles and genres in between, yet no label can fully or accurately encompass this music. Take one listen to Walcott or Oxford Comma, for example, with their witty, ethereal music and lyrics and I guarantee your heart will flutter and you’ll be one of the converted. You’ve heard something like this before, but never this, and that makes all the difference.

2008 has only just begun. In Vampire Weekend we have our first excellent album of the year.

Best Songs: Walcott, Oxford Comma, The Kids Don’t Stand a Chance, Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa, Boston, One