Vampire Weekend are the latest band to unexpectedly defy genre and geographic expectations. Since the turn of the millennium, New York groups have reworked proto-punk sounds popularised by The Velvet Underground (The Strokes, Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, Holy Hail), or rubbery punk-funk (The Rapture, !!!, Radio 4, LCD Soundsystem). But on this remarkable debut the latest NYC hopefuls clearly draw from a far deeper well of influences. The most overt feature of the VW sound is the refreshing adoption of Afrobeat percussion. This alone differentiates the quartet from their peers, but when added to a multitude of nautical references and other, often ambiguous, lyrics about delightfully esoteric subjects, the results are constantly rewarding.
Track Listing:
1. Mansard Roof - Vampire Weekend (2.07)
2. Oxford Comma - Vampire Weekend (3.15)
3. A-punk - Vampire Weekend (2.17)
4. Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa - Vampire Weekend (3.34)
5. M79 - Vampire Weekend (4.15)
6. Campus - Vampire Weekend (2.56)
7. Bryn - Vampire Weekend (2.13)
8. One (Blake's Got a New Face) - Vampire Weekend (3.13)
9. I Stand Corrected - Vampire Weekend (2.39)
10. Walcott - Vampire Weekend (3.41)
11. The Kids Don't Stand a Chance - Vampire Weekend (4.03)
Year of Production: 2008
