I might be a bit of a Brit pop babe and really love my quirky, little known Scottish indie bands but lately I have been seeking inspiration from across the pond. Recently there have been a number of bands from the good old US of A that have impressed me such as the Hold steady, The Gaslight Anthem and the subject of this review Vampire Weekend .
Vampire Weekend are a quartet that hail from New York state and released their eponymous debut album in 2008. I discovered them when their catchy single “Oxford Comma” was played extensively on XFM. Their name may suggest a goth or emo band but they are far from this. There are certainly no overwrought, gloomy dark lyrics here. Vampire Weekend are far from generic and sound unlike any indie or alternative band I know of combining African percussion rhythms ala Paul Simon on the “Rhythm of the Saints “hints of Western classical music and a singer Ezra Koenig who often has a touch of Sting's falsetto to his vocal.
First up we have a song named after an architectural feature. Mansard Roof sounds slightly vintage (but I'm not sure which vintage) to start. My mind thinks a Spanish Harlem Calypso style song sung by Sting that gradually develops to encompass a galloping drumbeat mixed with sweet violins and perhaps a vibraphone or some other instrument climaxing in a sudden ending.
It's a shame this little gem is not longer clocking in at just over two minutes.
From architecture we leap into the realms of punctuation with the song that introduced me to Vampire Weekend. “ Oxford Comma”is a catchy , upbeat song about an over serious, pedantic pretentious college girl. The introduction again is memorable with percussion sounds like a clock ticking and a hint of Ben E King's “Stand By Me”. The vocals are less Sting like but have little mini yodels at the end of sentences. Its quite endearing. I love the lyric” All your diction dripping with disdain” with its harsh alliteration. Again as he track goes on it speeds up to a gallop with a wonderful retro Hawaiian guitar solo. Be warned the lyric does contain the F word for those easily offended.
A Punk is the most recent single off the album and perhaps the most immediate, conventional and accessible song on the album. Its another upbeat song with a reggae feel,, with quieter flute and and strings interludes, some great heys and a funky bass line. I like it a lot.
The 80s revival seems to be very fashionable in indie circles. Whilst Editors and White Lies mimic uber cool Joy Division and retro synths seem o beasll the rage/ Vampire Weekend go for totally different 80s artists to influence their work . Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa is a song about the falseness of some people who are into world music. The guitar and percussion is blended in a rhythm thats very reminiscent of Paul Simon's “Rhythm of the Saints” and at the times the vocal even reminds me of Paul Simon when it does not slip back into Sting. The unfashionable 80s trinity is complete with a reference to he of Sledgehammer and Salisbury Hill fame Peter Gabriel himself. “It feels so unnatural Peter Gabriel too” Its quite a laid back number that is fairly catchy.
Have I got the right CD on? M79's introduction with its violins and harpsichord reminds me of the theme tune to the “Horse of the Year Show or is it Ski Sunday” with a classical style introduction. This morphs into a jaunty number with percussion to math. I like the woahs bit I think the opening couplet “It's going to take a little time While you're waiting like a factory line” sounds a bit lame.
Campus is a song about avoiding an ex when its not so easy to do so. “You're walking cross the campus. .. How am I supposed to pretend I never want to see you again?” . Its a much simpler. more straight forward rock and roll, song with a great double bass riff. Its a refreshing change after some of the more complex musical arrangements.
We turn to Celtic influences for Bryn due to the folky violin introduction that repeats throughout the track. A choppy percussion track supports the slightly laid back vocal which is low on th Stingometer. I find the lyrics are less catchy than some of the other tracks.
We do seem to be racing through the genres here. One (Blake's Got A New Face) has more Sting falsetto but has an electro feel to it with synthesizers and more rhythmic drumming and a quite endearing peroop sounds. The lyric “Blake's got a new face” is very memorable due to it being repeated a number of times. I Stand Corrected starts off at a slower pace with a very clear vocal that picks up the pace after the first verse Luckily its a less Stingy sounding song!.
Walcott seems to be about a journey through New England down to New Jersey with references to various east coast places. I really like this musically. It starts off with a fabulous rolling rolling piano introduction with clanging cymbals and a hint of rock and roll via the electric guitar. The tempo changes to a slower rhythm with a really nice bit of cello in the background. Again its not catchy lyrically but the tempo changes make it interesting.
Its the final track “Kids Don't Stand A Chance” and we are back to a strong hint of Sting. Its made even more Police like with the first section having a slow laid back reggae vibe to it. In other sections there is a more classical feel with a violin and harpsichord and the vocal is softer and sweeter bringing a calming ending to the album.
One of my main gripes with lyrics booklets is that often the designer is being too clever and the lyrics are hard to read ,as the font is either too small or too fancy. I like the booklet , as the lyrics are written in bold , decent sized print.
I like Vampire Weekend's eponymous debut album as a whole. Its an adventurous, risk taking sound drawing its influences from many genres. I am particularity impressed with the level of instrumentation and musical arrangements especially in the percussion and string sections. Its not an immediate album chock full of singles and thus might not appeal instantly if you have only heard A Punk but its certainly a grower if you give it the chance. Just don't buy it if your not a fan of Sting's falsetto!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
I keep faffing about whether to buy this or not - after reading this I'll be buying it this weekend as it sounds good. Cheers for helping me (finally) make up my mind!
brereton66 30.04.2009 23:18
New to me, good review.
kingfisher111 26.04.2009 21:31
i've never heard of these either but a great review nonetheless
Who would have thought it? Nobody, that's who. The last time African music enjoyed any ... more
meaningful dalliance with the Western mainstream it was under Paul Simon's patronage with his peerless 1986 albumGraceland. That's if you don't count Damon Albarn's ...
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Who would have thought it? Nobody, that's who. The last time African music enjoyed any ... more
meaningful dalliance with the Western mainstream it was under Paul Simon's patronage with his peerless 1986 album Graceland. That's if you don't count Damon Albarn's...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Apr 18th, 2009
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