Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend (2008, XL) Vampire Weekend's first studio album. ****

The Strokes, Lily Allen, Black Kids... all artists who built up a certain amount of hype before unveiling their debut. Vampire Weekend are no different. They'd been knocking around New York City since 2006, maintained a following and were finally signed to XL - probably the leading independent label in the world - for their first album. How does a band accomplish this? Either they cheat the system like Metro Station or Panic at the Disco or actually work for it and earn it by a certain amount of luck. Vampire Weekend has done the latter.

Eleven bouncy walls performed by guys who know what they're doing in the bounds of what they actually are doing; i.e., they don't try to sound smarter than they actually are. They don't try to write songs that are too complex for their own good. Sure, they've studied Paul Simon well enough, that's heard right from the beginning with "Mansard Roof." But their best moment is their bouncy and sly falsetto-linked "Oxford Comma." With its beautiful harmonies and irresistible verses, the band has already made a classic pop song.

Then there's the charming "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa," which manages to maintain catchiness and reference an influence - Peter Gabriel. One of their best moments is the exponentially growing "Campus," which perfectly displays their subject material; college kids doing college thinks. Vampire Weekend is a delicate balance of indie pop/rock with just the right amount of chamber pop; not too much, but the classical moments shine through when they need to. But the band isn't off the hook yet. Hype and praise have been thrown at them, and it's very clear when listening to the album that these are some boys who have no idea what they're getting themselves into. (Mansard Roof, Oxford Comma, Campus)