Review:Vampire Weekend

4/5 stars

How do you review the debut album of the most hyped band of the year?  The funny thing is that about 50% of the blog world, that promoted Vampire Weekend, have already turned their backs.  You don't have to look far on the Internet for the haters.  Indie fans can be arrogant and fickle, and if you've had your face on "Spin" magazine as band of the year, and mainstream critics are also giving your debut album rave reviews, you've lost a lot of indie cred.  In the indie music world, success equals failure, I guess?  They're aren't many other bands, especially successful ones, that are as independent as Vampire Weekend.  They've recorded their own album, booked their own tours, designed their own artwork, and they own their masters.  If that doesn't get indie respect, then I don't know what does.

On first listen, Vampire Weekend's self titled album can be a little overwhelming, with dramatic strings, African percussion, new age keyboards, pop melodies, and guitars that sound incredibly reminiscent of Johnny Marr and The Smiths.  After a couple listens the arrangements all begin to sound very natural, though.  This is one of those albums that gets better with each listen.  "Mansford Roof" starts with sweeping strings but quickly deconstructs into a strange new age beat, and from there the band adds new layers to the song.  Songs like "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" and "M79" are built with scattered musical ideas and influences, which Ezra Koenig's vocals and simple pop melodies pull together.  The majority of the lyrics are light and abstract, "eyes like a seagull, no Kansas born beetle could ever come close to that free" and don't weigh down the music.  The African influenced percussion gives the music a relaxed summer vibe.  The album surprisingly falters with songs like "Walcott" and "Bryn" when the music is simple and more repetitive.  But even the songs that aren't the greatest have enough redeeming qualities to them, that you are unlikely to skip them.  

The question is will Vampire Weekend make it past their first album, or will they disappoint and disappear next year like many of the Internet hyped bands seem to do(coughArtic Monkeyscough)?  I think it is unlikely, Vampire Weekend has a lot of room to grow, and their debut shows an ability to adapt that should keep them around for a long time to come.