Mordant Ballyhoo

This post-Columbia University ensemble has quite a bit going for them at the moment.  With a sound not unlike an olla podrida of The Talking Heads, Paul Simon and The Kinks, Vampire Weekend’s eponymous release is full of plump goodness. 

The band is rooted in the rythyms of western Africa and the Carribbean.  They combine the beat with soulful lyrics and adventurous guitar making for an upbeat, pleasant sound.  I for one, will worship any band that waxes lyrically about punctuation.  Many of you may have heard the single “Mansard Roof” playing on stations like LA’s Indie 103.1, and the rest of the album is just as good, if not better.  The aforementioned “Oxford Comma” is an interesting postmodern look at a little dash we have all taken for granted.  Poor little thing.  “Campus” brings us back to our college days, when everything was difficult and confusing, much like Pinochle or Thomas Pynchon.  Give me ham and eggs, baby!

As a whole, the album hits all the right chords.  The sound is fresh and catchy, the lyrics witty and insightful.  The only shortcoming is that the songs are short in duration.  Perhaps like vampires, they leave us always wanting more.