Vampire Weekend - S/T

Vampire Weekend comes from a widening genre I like to refer to as Nintendo Punk or Pop; they refer to their genre as Upper West Side Soweto. Their quick-witted songs with catchy melodies and riff driven keyboard elements give them a distinct sound. The 4 piece hails from New York City, but have a slight surfer punk edge to their music, most noticeably in the guitar riffs.

A couple of the songs ("A-punk," "Mansard Roof," "Oxford Comma," "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa") have been released previously. The album starts with "Mansard Roof," the bands first single; the song starts with the staccato rhythm of keyboard and drum. Soon a soothing keyboard riff sails over the top of a catchy drum beat. The next song, "Oxford Comma," contains a generation defining statement: Who gives a fuck about an oxford comma. The song screams from the bowels of a generation of brilliant youth who are tired of being held up to someone else’s expectations. Next, "A-punk" is a wonderful little song with a driving bass line and haunting keyboard riff during the chorus. It's what I imagine we would hear if the Ramones and the Beach Boys got together. "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" is my personal favorite song off the album. The song is vibrant and cool. The anticipation for the chorus is almost so contagious that you can’t help but scream, “IS YOUR BED MADE! IS YOUR SWEATER ON!” The bridge is a tangled mesh of keyboard, drums, bass and melodic vocals that some how works wonderfully for this Upper West Side Soweto group.

I’m not going to describe every song on this album. However, the fantastic music doesn’t stop after the first four brilliant songs. Each song stands on its own foot and holds up a vivacious album put out by a talented group of “Vampires?” Please don’t pass this one up.