Vampire Weekend is Ezra Koenig, Rotsam Batmanglij, Chris Baio, and Christopher Tomson. Most likely, you have already heard of this band, or possibly own their disk.
My recommendation to those of you who haven’t/don’t: buy the album. This new album comes in both traditional vinyl and CD. You’re not only going to play it until it’s dead (it turns out that this ridiculously catchy pop gets better with every play), you’ll memorize all of the lyrics in no time. Every one of these songs, often college-themed, are all enormously sing-along-y, with lines like “Lil’ Jon, he always tells the truth,” (‘Oxford Comma’) and “Oh Bryn! You see in the dark, right past the fireflies that sleep in my heart,” (‘Bryn’). Lyrics like these are hard to resist. I say go for it!
Ezra Koenig (formerly of L’ Homme Run) has the perfect voice for the music that Vampire Weekend has set out to make. His voice is unique, and at times delightfully high (without reaching whiney), yet it manages to serve the senses for people who prefer to stay a little bit closer to the mainstream-pop-scene.
This album is not a mainstream-pop album. The band obviously has a wide range of influences. Every track has a laid-back, tropical vibe, perfect for chilling on the beach. In this case, chilling on the beach would involve wearing cable-knit and/or argyle sweaters, seeing as they are based on Manhattan Island.
Stand out tracks include ‘Mansard Roof’, which opens the album, ‘A-Punk’, with jangle-y guitars, and floods of both “oh”s and “a”s is an instant favorite. ‘One (Blake’s Got a New Face)’ has some sweet keyboards and a great chorus: Ezra declares, “Blake’s got a new face!” and is instantly echoed by the same line, much squeakier, which makes it wicked fun. ‘Walcott’ is just what you want after the slower ‘I Stand Corrected’, and will make you look up the lyrics so you can sing along the first time through.
Honestly, there isn’t a bad song on this album. It may take you a couple of plays to get used to the final song this album, ‘The Kids Don’t Stand a Chance’ which has a bit of a reggae vibe and intensely echo-y vocals, but again, not bad. After about the first thirty seconds, you’ll know where you stand with Vampire Weekend: you like them
Okay kids, everything you need to know is in the first paragraph. The name of the band (and the album, by the way), is Vampire Weekend. Go get it! Also make sure to catch them on SNL this week.
-K. Butts
Vampire Weekend (myspace)
Vampire Weekend's website
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