[.ca] Vampire Weekend

"An educated, endlessly imaginative and different piece of work".:
This quartet of Columbia University graduates have been attracting a lot of attention with their jaunty blend of African-influenced indie-pop and unabashedly haut-bourgeois lyricism - wags call it "Upper West Side Soweto". They use that crisp, polyrhythmic African guitar style known as soukus, their song title Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa a perfect label for their kind of postGraceland, indie-highlife. Add to that lots of pop-goes-fugue strings and harpsichord, military drums and you've the sound of colonials cutting loose with their captives. Or a bid to be Wes Anderson's house band. Vampire Weekend combine these two potentially jarring ingredients with a poise and charm that are entirely their own. If you're going to write songs about architecture ("Mansard Roof"), punctuation ("Oxford Comma") and the joys of life at an Ivy League college ("Campus"), it helps to give them tunes as memorable as these. Clearly this quartet isn't interested in tired posturing or being cool for the sake of it. What bursts from the speakers is compellingly warm and joyful. Vampire Weekend have crafted an educated, endlessly imaginative and different piece of work that's arguably the first truly great album of the year. And you won't even need to wear a crucifix or garlic clove to hear it.

Vampire Weekend Solid Debut:
I was hesitant to like this disc initially. When I heard the background of the band, the influences and the sound affiliations; I was thinking it was going to be way too derivative (which seems to be way too common today). This album works, even though it is short in length (play it twice!). The influences abound from The Beat, General Public, early Police and various 'Two-Tone' bands and the occasional dash of Violent Femmes. It strongly reminds me of the way I felt when I first listened to Outlandos D'Amour. The songs are infinitely listenable, mostly upbeat and dare I say, fun. The band's description of themselves as 'Upper West Side Soweto' is apt. The strong songs are Oxford Comma, Mansard Roof, A-Punk and M-79, with One (Blake's Got A New Face) definitely channeling Sting during the early Police days. To turn things on their head, the lyrics are vague and intellectual and the guitars go through the gamut of African sounds to classical themes, propped up by string sections where appropriate. All you can say is Wha'ppen!

Happy catchy tunes:
It really feels as though this album should have been released in the summertime by the feeling it gives while listening to it, but hey, sunshine can follow you anywhere you go....and if you're listening to this album, it's always shining down. Quite short at only 34 mins but that just demands repeated listening. Highly Recommended.

• Mansard Roof
• Oxford Comma
• A-Punk
• Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
• M79
• Campus
• Bryn
• One (Blake's Got a New Face)
• I Stand Corrected
• Walcott
• Kids Don't Stand a Chance