There are plenty of reasons to hate Vampire Weekend. The whole gang gives off a monied vibe - their songs reflect childhoods spent "summering" in Cape Cod, and the quartet all met while studying at Columbia University. They received lots of MySpace buzz - damning to a "real" indie band. And, come on, "Vampire Weekend" is a pretty terrible name for a band. One half-expects some sort of goth nonsense when told about the group.
Many critics already do hate them for these reasons (and, purportedly, their music too- but we'll get to that). However, many more - including this writer - don't hold their background against them, for Vampire Weekend's music more than redeems it.
I was disturbed to find Vampire Weekend's self-titled debut in the "Punk" section of Amazon.com. Not as disturbed, undoubtedly, is the band itself, seeing as they are currently number one in their undeserved sub-genre. Make no mistake though: This music falls heavily onto the "pop" side of "pop-punk," so much so that I might instead call it "pop-rock," its punk roots barely audible.
Lead singer Ezra Koening does have a certain indie-rocker edge to his voice, but not so much to turn off a more mainstream audience. Rather, it is more likely the mainstream audience will find in Vampire Weekend a "cool" band that they can feel good about liking.
Not that I criticize their distinctively accessible sound. Koening's guitar comes in clean and refreshing in an era of fuzzy indie rock, but he is skilled enough that he cannot be dismissed as a musician. In fact, the entire band does well in this department, and percussionist Chris Tomson especially stands out, giving the band what has become one of its most standout features: the heavy influence of African percussion. The off-continent drums blend into the rest of the music seamlessly, so one can forget that the percussion is novel and instead appreciate the well-fused sound.
Before the album, the single "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa," was named one of Rolling Stone's 100 best of 2007. Now, gently remastered for the album, it remains a standout track, with a clear, deep bass and catchy guitar lick.
Also notable is "Mansard Roof," which those with fancy-pants satellite radios may have already heard ad nauseum on the cool-kid stations.
There are a few tracks on here that maybe could have been relegated to a B-side, but then, most albums have those tracks. In all, all of the tracks are worth hearing. The wonder of this album-produced by a bunch of guys I would probably hate- keeps me coming back for more.
Despite the criticism Vampire Weekend gets, this album is one worth listening to if you can put the ramblings of overenthusiastic bloggers aside. If you can appreciate some quality pop-rock for its own sake, give Vampire Weekend a try.
