The groundswell began in late 2007. A new band was out there, "the new band" was out there. Songs started popping up on indie rock websites, shows started selling out and claims started being made. This could be it, the band we had been waiting on, the band that defined an otherwise undefinable era, addictive, intelligent, undeniable, yes, Vampire Weekend could be them all.
First off, that's alot of pressure for any band, much less one putting out their very first release. But if anyone could do it, it was Vampire Weekend right? They are from New York City, they went to an Ivy League school, they are four white guys from the United States playing music based on a combination of chamber music and African beats. That sort of pedigree implies an inherent greatness, since most people don't live in a city as cool as NYC, didn't go to Columbia and don't know much about Jeff Von Der Schmidt (conductor of Southwest Chamber Music and two time Grammy winner, in case you were wondering) . With Vampire Weekend's impressive background, it's no wonder that many in indie rock circles have absorbed VW's expected greatness into their opinions and reviews. After all, we all want every album we hear to be transcendent, so preconceived expectations can easily modify notes and ideas as they are transfered from the ear to the brain.
Unfortunately, track one of Vampire Weekend's self titled album reveal most of what you are going to get with these guys. "Mansford Roof" is playful and brimming with potential, but ultimately unfulfilling. It wouldn't be a bad place to start, but "Oxford Comma" follows and sounds alot like a Pavement discard. Of course I like Pavement, so the song isn't without some charm. "A-Punk" follows and sound like every bad ska song you have ever heard, except it doesn't have a ska band's redeeming horn section, so yeah, worthless. "Cape Code Kwassa Kwassa" drowns in it's own pretension, there is literally nothing here, not lyrically, not musically, nothing. "Is your bed made, is your sweater on?", has indie rock fallen on such hard times that these are the lyrics we have deemed acceptable? "M79" follows and is a charming song that pits lead singer Ezra Koenig's lyrics against chamber strings before naturally blending the two.
The rest of the album really hits on what Vampire Weekend really is. Songs like "Campus" and "I Stand Corrected" are inoffensive and pleasant, despite lacking depth and being easily forgotten. However, "One (Blake's Got a New Face)", "Walcott" and "The Kids Don't Stand a Chance" are really garbage. I wish I could be more poetic or descriptive, but I can't. If you heard these songs at a campus battle of the bands or at your corner bar, you would walk out.
Vampire Weekend's debut will draw parallels to Pavement, Weezer (the pop radio version of Pavement) and Madness, while Koenig's vocals are reminiscent of a Police-era Sting. The question for you, dear reader, is will you accept bastardized versions of these classic, original bands simply because it's "new" or because of the zip code the band lives in?
20 February 2008
14 February 2008
2007's Best Albums
10) Kayne West - Graduation - Chi Town's favorite son (well, at least according to him) returned with his third and most complete album to date. Solid hooks, beats and lyrics mean that Mr. West will be wrapped in Louis V. and hatin' on presidents for many years to come.
9) Wilco - Sky Blue Sky - Easily Wilco's most grounded effort to date, Sky Blue Sky represents a more mature Jeff Tweedy. Gone are the frantic, out of control moments that littered Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost is Born, replaced with smooth, jazzy "dad-rock". Kinda fitting since Tweedy has slowed down his life and, in fact, is a dad.
8) Low - Drums and Guns - Drums and Guns is an album as intense, dark and cold as a January night in Low's native Minnesota (ed. note: I've never been north of Chicago, so I'm making that analogy based on hearsay alone). While Low may not be the easiest listen, the have succeeded in creating an album filled with interesting textures and a rewarding, underlying honesty.
7) Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Some Loud Thunder - CYHSY's follow up to their critically acclaimed self-title debut was predictably met with scorn from the same hipster dipshits that lauded the band less than two years before. While Some Loud Thunder may not be as infectious as its predecessor, it is more ambitious, more intimate and a much more complete idea. And if you still wanna boogie, well, it's got "Satan Said Dance" too.
6) Battles - Mirrored - On their debut album Battles proved that you don't need lyrics (at least recognizable ones) when you are in complete control of your compositions. Intense and transient, Mirrored is an album worth listening to (especially if you want to know what music will sound like after the robotic uprising of the mid '90s).
5) Arcade Fire - Neon Bible - Neon Bible was a disappointment. Frankly, after the Arcade Fire's epic debut anything would have been a disappointment. Coming to the conclusion that Neon Bible isn't Funeral is similar to the period after a real funeral; less emotional, less intense and more than a bit confusing. Neon Bible represents the Arcade Fire's uncertainty, growth and, yes, disappointment as a band. Oh yeah, the songs are still pretty good.
4) Bright Eyes - Cassadaga - I've probably written more in this space about Bright Eyes than any other musician and Cassadaga is the main reason why. While the lyrics and emotion are classic Conor, the arrangements are light years beyond anything Oberst and his bandmates had attempted before. A complete, well thought out and adventurous album.
3) New Pornographers - Challengers - Challengers is the album I was waiting for the New Pornos to make. On their fourth album, the Canuck superstars finally stopped assaulting their listeners with wide open rock songs, replacing power cords with restraint. Challengers explored more of the Pornos individual personalities, from Neko Case's soulful "Challengers" to Dan Bejar's playful "Myriad Harbour", without sounding like they simply sampled from each members catalog and really, that's all I ever asked for.
2) Radiohead - In Rainbows - Radiohead's 7th studio album proved to be completely typical. Typical Radiohead re-invention, typical freshness, typical political and social snear . The only thing unique about the record (besides the amazing songs) was the "fuck you" Radiohead sent to their old record label by releasing In Rainbows under the "pay what you want" tag. Then again, this is what we have typically come to expect from the best band of the last twenty years.
1) Peter Bjorn and John - Writer's Block - Writer's Block is really everything I look for in an album: driving/danceable beats, emotionally honest lyrics and, above all, well crafted songs. Plenty more could be written about Writer's Block (much of it can be found in the Bitchfork archives), but why read about it? Go listen and enjoy 2007's best album.
9) Wilco - Sky Blue Sky - Easily Wilco's most grounded effort to date, Sky Blue Sky represents a more mature Jeff Tweedy. Gone are the frantic, out of control moments that littered Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost is Born, replaced with smooth, jazzy "dad-rock". Kinda fitting since Tweedy has slowed down his life and, in fact, is a dad.
8) Low - Drums and Guns - Drums and Guns is an album as intense, dark and cold as a January night in Low's native Minnesota (ed. note: I've never been north of Chicago, so I'm making that analogy based on hearsay alone). While Low may not be the easiest listen, the have succeeded in creating an album filled with interesting textures and a rewarding, underlying honesty.
7) Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Some Loud Thunder - CYHSY's follow up to their critically acclaimed self-title debut was predictably met with scorn from the same hipster dipshits that lauded the band less than two years before. While Some Loud Thunder may not be as infectious as its predecessor, it is more ambitious, more intimate and a much more complete idea. And if you still wanna boogie, well, it's got "Satan Said Dance" too.
6) Battles - Mirrored - On their debut album Battles proved that you don't need lyrics (at least recognizable ones) when you are in complete control of your compositions. Intense and transient, Mirrored is an album worth listening to (especially if you want to know what music will sound like after the robotic uprising of the mid '90s).
5) Arcade Fire - Neon Bible - Neon Bible was a disappointment. Frankly, after the Arcade Fire's epic debut anything would have been a disappointment. Coming to the conclusion that Neon Bible isn't Funeral is similar to the period after a real funeral; less emotional, less intense and more than a bit confusing. Neon Bible represents the Arcade Fire's uncertainty, growth and, yes, disappointment as a band. Oh yeah, the songs are still pretty good.
4) Bright Eyes - Cassadaga - I've probably written more in this space about Bright Eyes than any other musician and Cassadaga is the main reason why. While the lyrics and emotion are classic Conor, the arrangements are light years beyond anything Oberst and his bandmates had attempted before. A complete, well thought out and adventurous album.
3) New Pornographers - Challengers - Challengers is the album I was waiting for the New Pornos to make. On their fourth album, the Canuck superstars finally stopped assaulting their listeners with wide open rock songs, replacing power cords with restraint. Challengers explored more of the Pornos individual personalities, from Neko Case's soulful "Challengers" to Dan Bejar's playful "Myriad Harbour", without sounding like they simply sampled from each members catalog and really, that's all I ever asked for.
2) Radiohead - In Rainbows - Radiohead's 7th studio album proved to be completely typical. Typical Radiohead re-invention, typical freshness, typical political and social snear . The only thing unique about the record (besides the amazing songs) was the "fuck you" Radiohead sent to their old record label by releasing In Rainbows under the "pay what you want" tag. Then again, this is what we have typically come to expect from the best band of the last twenty years.
1) Peter Bjorn and John - Writer's Block - Writer's Block is really everything I look for in an album: driving/danceable beats, emotionally honest lyrics and, above all, well crafted songs. Plenty more could be written about Writer's Block (much of it can be found in the Bitchfork archives), but why read about it? Go listen and enjoy 2007's best album.
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