Vampire Weekend
2 03 2008
Vampire Weekend is that outgoing, well-traveled hippy friend of the opposite sex you think is a little spacey, but whom you always look forward to spending time with. If you’d let him/her, they’d infect your life with zany adventures and rituals that might make you feel uncomfortable at first, but eventually you’d come to appreciate their positive impact (And their attention to grammar).
Perfect for wind-blown trips and Sunday afternoons in the sun, Vampire Weekend are 4 young chaps who mix African, Indie, and Pop music. While I’m no expert on ethnic music, I definitely hear hints of Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel who have both been greatly influenced by the music of Africa. Already dubbed “The Year’s Best Band” by Spin Magazine, Vampire Weekend’s garnered attention for making music fun to listen to again. More specifically, their songs like “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” are upbeat, universally appealing, tongue in cheek and impressionistic enough to let anyone find some meaning (or meaninglessness) in the words.
Driven by drums, guitars, and organs the album’s tracks are speckled with extra-curricular instruments including violins, violas, cellos, chamberlins, harpsichords, synths, and shakers. One member plays 8 different instruments on the album – should Sufjan be worried? The band describes their, “ideal avatar [as] preppy African with equal parts of fresh and clean. Preppiness with West African guitar pop, a perfect fusion of happy world music with Western, New England preppiness.”
If that ’s what it takes to get great rhythms like this then I say, “Give them a trip to Africa, a LaCoste gift certificate, a Guitar, and drums. They’ll work out a second album in no time.”
Tracks:
Vampire Weekend – I Stand Corrected
Vampire Weekend – Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
Categories : Music
