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?
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