AR: Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend (2008)

As trendy in the late 2000s as, well, vampires, NYC-based Vampire Weekend erupted on the indie pop scene in 2007 / 2008 and, um, the hipsters didn't stand a chance. It will save a lot of effort just to list their utterly true list of oft-made-association words, so here goes: afro-pop, preppy, effortless, chamber-pop, ivy league, Paul Simon's Graceland, baroque, erudite, nonsense lyrics, clean, catchy, catchy, CATCHY. Beck, D/C and I were lucky enough to catch these guys in Tempe last year where they were kind enough to play their album in mixed up order (plus maybe one non-debut album song) for us. Amazingly, this is one of the few times when hearing a rather note-for-note take of an album in a live setting did not disappoint but entrenched the already head-entombed songs even deeper into my consciousness. Like I said, CATCHY - just ask the Beck, who keeps a copy of this CD in her car at all times (and puts it on the iPod whenever I ask her to DJ - given that VW is not an audiobook or NPR, this should be rather striking). Their live show brought a ton of energy, and since we were at the tail end of their US tour (on which I imagine they had played that exact set of tunes a hundred plus times), I was pretty impressed that they delivered such a gripping, memorable performance. Then again, they were not exactly lacking in the fawning female audience members department, so it's not like they lacked proper motivation.

VW impresses as an exceedingly immediate album; it reminds me a lot of The Strokes' debut in its first-listen memorability and quick, direct appeal. VW owns a clean sound - synths, strings, that trebly lead guitar, and the crisp drum/bass work all stand out brilliantly. They took their time crafting the album, and it paid off greatly - this is one of those "every note in place" efforts, and more importantly, there is nary a clunker tune to be found. In lieu of the usual track by track account of great albums, I'll just insist that you get a hold of this one and let it infect your brain, too. The only tune I don't just love on this disc is "One (Blake's Got a New Face") because of that shrill tagline; it's just too much afro and not enough chamber for my tastes. Everything else ranges from solid to great to excellent - I'm sure people differ greatly in their favorites, but given that I'm hooked on ten of eleven tracks, the ones that get me song-stuck the most are "Oxford Comma," "M79," and "The Kids Don't Stand a Chance." Even saying that is silly; there's not a one on here that doesn't transmit those uplifting essence-de-cool-breeze grins.

All of that praise deservedly heaped - something in the nonsense lyrics and the over-hookiness of this one paradoxically holds it down for me. Almost as if this were too easy - if they can just spit out these brain viruses with this afro-chamber-indie formula, then surely some experimentation could *really* kill. So that's both a very minor detractor for this disc and a selling point for the band - they absolutely owned this sound and crafted a debut package of gems; it'll be interesting to see what happens when they expand beyond this great but somewhat contained sound/style.

Status: Recommended
Nyet's Fave: "Oxford Comma"