The Last Drop

Vampire Weekend, Vampire Weekend - Fresh from their glowing review on Pitchfork and lots of (inter)national buzz, Vampire Weekend is choc full of “the next best thing out of New York” excitement. With comparisons to Paul Simon and The Police, how could they not take the world by storm? Even I have been sucked into this mess (well, they DO have an emphasis on African rhythms, so I’m merely supporting my people…). One day into this album, I can see where the hype has been built from. The first 5 tracks are a monstrous success – full of articulate, lean, pop filled, transcontinental sounds. Even I was surprised at how good they sound for a college band from an elitist school. Not that I have any problems with elitist schools (thank you Wash U for that $120,000 receipt!). Just the combination of college elitism AND New York can sometimes lead to underwhelming hype. Which seeps into the middle section of this album. When the songs start to rely heavily on the college themes (“Campus”, “One(Blake’s Got a New Face”), the album starts to sound repetitive and too self referential. Nevertheless, their sound is expansive in all of the right places and the addition of equatorial soundscapes makes it more enduring than their earlier buzzmakers (The Strokes anyone?). For all of their many positives, I still think this may be a one off band. I like the allusions to Sting and Paul Simon, but Ezra Koenig is not nearly as skilled a vocalist as I would like him to be. This seems to be the trend in indy rock – you can get by with enough wit to make up for limited skill. I have not been a fan of this approach, but I guess I am in the minority. Not looking for the next American Idol, but I wouldn’t mind a few lead singers that can stay on pitch without having to scream. Either way, this effort is good in spite of it’s overt attempt to be off the cuff and clever. I don’t know if this is a lasting formula. Rather, I can’t imagine this being a lasting formula. But for now, I’ll take it for what it’s worth and listen heartily.