Working For the Vampire Weeekend.
Those snazzy sweaters can't hid their infectious indie pop sound.
Vampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend
Released on Nov 30, -0001
Vampire Weekend are the Strokes – only less New York rock n' roll and more Ivy League education. (The four members attended Columbia University.) They're also the Police, but instead of donning Sting's sleeveless tees, they're rocking sweaters and chinos. And it's this latter distinction – lead singer Ezra Koenig recently gabbed about buying a Polo sweater with embroidered dogs on it --- and their penchant for describing their sound in quirky terms such as "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa," "Upper West Side Soweto," "Campus" and "Oxford Comma" that seems to have the cool kids all in a tizzy.
Couple the vapid preppiness with Internet peeps hyping these guys up some time before their debut and well, you have a recipe for a backlash. But really, that's just being silly. Because if you judge Vampire Weekend by the label and don't use a can opener to crack open the lid and look inside, you're missing out.
The album is snazzy from front to back. VW weaves in harpsichord-ish keyboards and strings on the opening track "Mansford Roof," African influences on "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" and gritty indie pop on the single "A-Punk." "Walcott" is the catchiest track, as Koenig sings "Wolcott/Don't you know that it's insane? /Don't you want to get out of Cape Cod - out of Cape Cod tonight?" In "Oxford Comma," Koenig laments one being overly bookish and proper does no one any favors.
Vampire Weekend's self-titled debut is a breath of fresh air. Let's just hope all the Ralph Lauren talk doesn't overshadow that.
High Point
Low Point
Posted by Ryan Corazza on Feb 05, 2008 @ 12:00 am