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Vampire Weekend

"Vampire Weekend"

Record label: XL

Release date: Jan. 29, 2008

www.vampireweekend.com

4 out of 5 stars

A product of blog and general Internet build up, Vampire Weekend had high expectations to live up to for their debut album.

Fortunately for fans of the band and appreciators of music alike, Vampire Weekend and their self-titled, inspired-by-African-tunes debut prove that a group can indeed live up to the hype.

The New York quartet, consisting of members who attended Columbia University, created an album full of bouncy tracks drawing from west African influences, even dropping references to Congolese dance beats in song titles such as "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa." Paired with a clean sense of new-wave-meets-indie sound, the group manages to perform a great debut album filled with up-beat tracks that never get too smart or serious for their own good.

Kicking off the album is the track "A-Punk," with a The Strokes-esque, snare and cymbal beat paired with a plucky guitar line that's bound to be the bane of those with a knack for getting songs stuck in their heads.

Earthy and breezy wind instruments begin to hum, soon taking over the song and adding a deeper feel to the hipster tune. Lead singer Ezra Koenig shares equal time with them in a choppy delivery with plenty of, "'ey, 'ey, 'ey," and "say oh."

This song sets the tone for "Vampire Weekend" juxtaposing a bouncy beat with a laid-back and international sound that most of the songs adhere.

There's no pressure or pushing within the song or the album, just ease exuded by a talented group whose tunes are mellow and cultured. Koenig channels the pseudo-speaking, easy singing sound of Paul Simon throughout the record, yet displaying a tremendous tonal range in songs such as "Oxford Comma" where he begins lines in his normal tenor tones and ends with a falsetto flip.

Another standout track is "Bryn," a bass-heavy, just-more-than-two-minute track about longing.

"Ion displacement won't work in the basement, especially when I'm not with you," Koenig sings at a dragging pace. "Here in the heartland, a feeling so startling, I don't what I should do."

Backed by a constant tapping, the song is vaguely upbeat with a melancholy vibe that makes it an interesting listen.

While listening to "Vampire Weekend" it seems as though each track would fit in the setting of its African influence or just as the soundtrack in a college apartment or simple car ride.

Sometimes it can have the tendency to be a little too easy listening or have too much of a propensity to being background music, but its strengths far outweigh this notion.

Music fans should definitely check out the first bite Vampire Weekend has taken out of the business.

Alicia Wade can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 275 or awade@siude.com.

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