Average User Rating: 80% (37 Reviews)
4 / 5	Short, punchy and fun alt pop. Mr. B. Morse (England) - 16 January 2008 The debut album from the (over) hyped NYC foursome is excellent power pop, with African Rhythms and happy jangly guitar. It's short, with lots of the songs barely cresting 3 minutes. But it makes up for it with huge fun hooks and lots of variety. It's a strong opening album from a band I hope survive the huge attention they are getting. The lyrics are at times high handed references to war and historical figures, but at their best are good stories and times socially relevant. Either way you slice it, it's the end of January and this CD will be making lots of year end "best of's". Purchase immediately, if not sooner. Best tracks: A-Punk, Walcott, Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa, The Kids Don't Stand A Chance... Read Full Review »
4 / 5	Pop just got smart again - Rock just got fun again! Bernard Davis "Bernard Davis" (Birmingham, England) - 25 February 2008 OK. So I'm bored with the parade of safe singer songwriters and 60's style soulsters who are clogging up the charts, and Radiohead's latest doodlings are not making me feel any better. But this is a breath of fresh air! Thank you Vampire Weekend! Every so often there is a band with the breadth of vision to put a lorry load of influences into the blender and come up with something crisp and fresh. Yes, there is Strokes style Noo-York Noo-Wave in here, African beats and Rythms, Classically influenced chamber pop, Barber Shop, and........ The sort of feast that pop groups served up between 1978 and 1984. But it is a lot more than the sum of it's influences - and Vampire Weekend show some great songwriting ability. And heck, it's just plain fun. This is going to get a lot of 40somethings putting their dancing shoes on again and getting on down to the likes of A-Pop which is pretty much 2Tone Ska revisited. This is a college record and proud of it. It's a smart record and proud of it. It tosses words around with a gay abandon that reminds me of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. Best of all this is a Spring and Summer record with a mixture of New York and African sunlight oozing from it's grooves. Pop just got smart again - Rock just got fun again! ... Read Full Review »
3 / 5	There is such a thing as TOO quirky, you know ChrisD (Eastbourne, UK) - 29 June 2008 I want to like Vampire Weekend. I really do. They deserve kudos for keeping their songs short, fun and catchy, while bringing Soweto-style rhythms to the masses for the first time since Graceland. Fun little melodies bounce along as if their only purpose is to make you happy, and singer Ezra Koenig yaps his vocals like a playful puppy, eager for a biscuit. So far, so endearing. But there is something of a feeling of look-at-me smart-arsedness about it all that threatens to undo their good work at times. Recent single Oxford Comma is an example - a song that seems to bemoan grammatical fascism and an obsession with correct spelling. I mean, eh? Someone is wearing their clever trousers. Catchy tune, though. But while there are other disappointing moments - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa starts off giving the impression that it's going to be better than it turns out, while One (Blake's Got A New Face) is just plain ruddy irritating - there are a lot of good moments too. Opener Mansard Roof is a short but pleasing way to get the ball rolling, and stays in the head much longer than its 2 minute running time; A-Punk will get fans of late 70s 2-Tone feeling nostalgic; while my personal favourite M79 is a delight, starting with a bright little harpsichord intro (yes, a harpsichord) and featuring a string section jaunty enough to bring the sun out. I get a distinct feeling there is a very good album in this band. This just isn't yet quite it.... Read Full Review »
3 / 5	Does this Vampire bite.. or suck? J. Crampton "Jamie Crampton, Film nut" (Bedford, UK) - 28 January 2008 When you give a band a name like this you leave yourself wide open for people approaching the stuff expecting Goth-a-go-go, or at least something very dark and atmospheric but - surprise! - it's not. Nope - it's some bunch of Americans who no doubt liked the name and decided they were damn well gonna keep it (man) and have issued this 10 track self-produced début album. One thing it's not is rock, and one other thing it's not is especially "commercial" - the 10 tracks jolly along at a reasonable pace, there's elements of bands like They Might Be Giants, a little Talking Heads, some white boy reggae (although I'm not overly convinced about the Strokes references) and kudos to them for integrating distinctly non-rock instrumentation (strings! Cool..). First single Mansard Roof is probably the weirdest thing on here, although a couple of others aren't far behind in the weirdo stakes. All in all it's a cautious recommendation - I would strongly suggest a policy of try before you buy, and bear in mind it's also extremely short - well under 30 minutes in total for its 10 tracks. Not one for me that would be glued to my turntable but a distracting occasional listen.... Read Full Review »
1 / 5	Over-hyped Fernanda "Fernanda" - 14 March 2008 Sorry, really don't like this. It's a playlist of twangy, trite little songs, with no depth or substance whatever. I've listened to it several times now, (just in case I was missing something,) but no, it doesn't get any better. In fact, it just annoys me more and more. Don't waste your money.