TOP 100 ALBUMS EVAR: #92 Vampire Weekend: Vampire Weekend (2008) <XL> Genre: Indie Pop, Afro Pop Nationality: USA (New York City, NY) For the longest time I didn’t like this band when they debuted some three years ago.  Their quick rise to fame didn’t help either, making it feel like I was left out of some great inside joke that I simply failed to understand.  I think I then realized that their debut record was something that had to grow on you to achieve its full effect.  Now, three years later, I think that Vampire Weekend’s debut has grown tremendously in quality, much in the same way I view the Strokes’ Is This It.  Sometimes when people fawn over some record, years later it seems so outdated, and therefore loses its lasting appeal.  Others grow and grow in quality, having such a timeless effect that they never lose significance.  Vampire Weekend is one of those bands.  That’s because the songs, by themselves, for what they are, are fantastic pop constructions, meticulously crafted and perfectly executed.  The playing is impressive, the rhythm is accented and tight, and the hooks are melodic and memorable.  Nothing is all that complicated.  The progressions are ordinary, the kind of stuff you could find in a simple 60’s pop tune.  This is a “less-is-more” type of album with a slight twist, combining indie rock with afro pop sentiments.  It was fresh at the time and remains fresh today, a breezy, sunny pop record appropriate for pretty much any kind of day. Key Tracks: “Oxford Comma,” “M79,” “The Kids Don’t Stand A Chance,” “Campus” For Fans Of: Paul Simon, Spoon, Ra Ra Riot

TOP 100 ALBUMS EVAR: #92

Vampire Weekend: Vampire Weekend (2008) <XL>

Genre: Indie Pop, Afro Pop

Nationality: USA (New York City, NY)

For the longest time I didn’t like this band when they debuted some three years ago.  Their quick rise to fame didn’t help either, making it feel like I was left out of some great inside joke that I simply failed to understand.  I think I then realized that their debut record was something that had to grow on you to achieve its full effect.  Now, three years later, I think that Vampire Weekend’s debut has grown tremendously in quality, much in the same way I view the Strokes’ Is This It.  Sometimes when people fawn over some record, years later it seems so outdated, and therefore loses its lasting appeal.  Others grow and grow in quality, having such a timeless effect that they never lose significance.  Vampire Weekend is one of those bands.  That’s because the songs, by themselves, for what they are, are fantastic pop constructions, meticulously crafted and perfectly executed.  The playing is impressive, the rhythm is accented and tight, and the hooks are melodic and memorable.  Nothing is all that complicated.  The progressions are ordinary, the kind of stuff you could find in a simple 60’s pop tune.  This is a “less-is-more” type of album with a slight twist, combining indie rock with afro pop sentiments.  It was fresh at the time and remains fresh today, a breezy, sunny pop record appropriate for pretty much any kind of day.

Key Tracks: “Oxford Comma,” “M79,” “The Kids Don’t Stand A Chance,” “Campus”

For Fans Of: Paul Simon, Spoon, Ra Ra Riot