The Rock Blogger

Vampire Weekend. Vampire Weekend 2008. 3.5 stars.

New York City’s Vampire Weekend are riding a wave of critical praise and industry hype, having secured acclaim across many popular music blogs and a Letterman appearance, its no surprise that they have sleeper hit on their hands. So what is everyone getting riled up about? It probably has to do with the relaxed vibe and afro-beat rhythms sported by their self-titled debut, bringing some summery warmth to an otherwise dull and dreary time of year.

Ezra Koenig’s vocals are laid-back and charming, mostly dealing with bittersweet college relationships and infidelity, fittingly nicely between poppy hipster-bait like The Shins and Menomena. What makes them standout among the crowd however, is their studious instrumental variety, as there are plenty of strings and woodwinds to add interest to the catchy tunes.

There is definitely some homages to sunny 60s music on here, with many of the cooing vocals and classical arrangments sounding reminiscent of The Beach Boys and Paul Simon. While still very modern and scene-oriented, Vampire Weekend is not as self-conscious as they might seem, as their songs never feel forced or derivative of their influences. The nostalgic feelings radiating from this release will be sure to attract the attention of film and television producers looking for the next hit indie-film soundtrack, as the band paints vivid mental pictures of young and hopeless romantics. I’m sure Wes Anderson is listening too.

So does it live up to the hype? Well yes and no. Certainly, Vampire Weekend’s comfortable handling of eclectic musical styles is worthy of the accolades. Thematically and lyrically however, Vampire Weekend explore the same themes and characters that have dominated the indie-pop genre for the better part of the decade. This, for many, is a good thing, especially for those who are looking for the perfect soundtrack for their campus romps. For others, like this post-grad reviewer, the scenes are already so familiar. This won’t change their lives, as those Natalie Portman types so badly want it to. Instead, Vampire Weekend is more interesting for its instrumental variety and comforting atmosphere.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 6th, 2008 at 12:08 pm and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.