Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
Release Date: 29 January 2008 (XL)
Vampire Weekend's self titled debut was met with strong reviews when it came out. Finally, the album has been given the treatment of The Wheel's Still In Spin's short story review.
Tom walked into the room, grabbed the blue marker and put another slash next to his name on the dry erase board. “48. Beat that.”
The contest started honorably. If they kept track of the number of classes they each skipped, they theorized, it would keep them from skipping too many classes. Consciously or guiltily, they would strive to do better by keeping a record of their missteps.
However, after the first few weeks of the quarter their admirable intentions quickly spiraled in the wrong direction. As Tom bragged about his the 48th missed class of the quarter, Philippe pointed out that his count was up to 53.
“Are you listening to this album again?” Tom asked to change the subject. Philippe and Micah gave a confident non-response to Tom’s question in an attempt to prove how rhetorical it was. They continued to play Halo 3 and ignore their classes and Tom’s entrance.
While Vampire Weekend’s self-titled debut has become over-saturated, it’s hard to deny its appealing quality. The album is loaded with melodic bass lines, syncopated rhythms, and alluring melodies. It is most often referred to as an Afrobeat influenced album, but there is more happening on this album. This modern college rock album is indie pop influenced by both African popular and Western classical music.
Tom missed the first track of the album. The second track, “Oxford Comma,” with its simple instrumentation and creative tempo changes, posed the question any applied college student asks, “Who gives a fuck about an oxford comma?” Truly there are more important ways to spend your time. These three literate students proved that as they play Halo 3 and watch their count of skipped classes increase.
“What is about this album?” Tom inquired. “Why do you listen to it when you’re playing Halo?”
Micah fielded this one. “The album has upbeat, positive tempos that work well with the high energy of the game. The songs are short and sweet and move through different rhythms pretty quickly.”
“And its mellow enough not to distract us from the game,” Philippe added.
Vampire Weekend calls their sound “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa,” after the fourth track on this album. Like “A-Punk” and “Mansard Roof” preceding it, this track has Afrobeat connotations. “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” has the strongest Fela Kuti type sound with its fast paced guitar riffs, percussive hand drums, and moving and succinct bass line. The music is the Kwassa Kwassa reference and the lyrics (Louis Vuitton, Bennetton, and sweaters) are the Cape Cod.
“This album sounds like a rip off of that album Paul Simon ripped off from South Africa,” Tom decried.
“Yeah, some of the songs sound like that, but not all of them,” Micah affirmed. “Later in the album, ‘Bryn’ has Celtic influences. Vampire Weekend doesn’t use very many horns either. There are a lot of strings and synthesizers throughout the album. That gives it a different sound that’s not exactly Afrobeat, but definitely influenced by it.”
“Alright, but it just doesn’t sound very original to me.”
“Really?” Philippe piped in. “So you think there are a lot of indie rock bands gaining notoriety for playing African influenced pop music?” Tom was not going to come out on top of this conversation. “Listen to this track. These are such catchy melodies and classical influences. Does this sound like Graceland to you?”
“M79” starts with a chamber string section, adds a melodic bass line and drums, then a staccato guitar riff. The song jumps through different syncopations. The song reaches a section of straight downbeats from the drums as it hits the catchy refrain that begins with “No excuse to be so callous.”
“Alright, then how do you describe this album?” Tom asked.
Philippe responded, “It’s just a up to date college rock album. It’s full of all sorts of worldly references like the Falklands War, Kyber Pass, and the Dali Lama. Lyrically, it’s as literate as R.E.M., XTC, and even They Might Be Giants.”
“It’s a natural progression of alternative music,” added Micah.
“But with popular African influences,” Tom supplemented to the conversation.
Micah paused the Hale 3 game. “You want to take my place?” he asked Tom.
“Sure. Where you going?”
“I got to go to class,” was met with shock. After the pause of disbelief, Micah defended his decision, “I got a test in my history class today.”
As Micah leaves the room, the song “Campus” begins its buildup. The chorus is a mixture of wall of sound production and sudden stops. It announces, “Then I see you/ You’re walking across the campus” as Micah meanders to his history test.
www.vampireweekend.com
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Best Albums Of January 2008
Live Review of Vampire Weekend 2/13/08 show at The Gypsy Hut
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