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  XLLP318Long Player  £16.00

Label

XL

Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend

number three in rough trade's albums of 2008 you want ideas vampire weekend have ideas they've also got wit imagination an eye for lyrical detail and an ear for musical adventure most importantly vampire weekend have tunes oh yes they've got tunes dealing in genres the band have dubbed 'cape cod kwassa kwassa' and 'upper west side soweto' 'vampire weekend' is a breath of fresh air both musically and lyrically with this new york band endeavouring to make music that is anything but straight ahead rock straight ahead as if this is indierock that isn't indierock a joyously exuberant carnival of melody and rhythm strings organs afrofunk guitars courtly 18th century harpsichord a bit of postpunk maybe franz ferdinand crossed with the bhundu boys lyrics about grammar and architecture and preferred bus routes and the british imperial origins of american preppie fashion with fleetfooted pizzazz vampire weekend deploy all these to craft a tinglingly refreshing sound anyone for brainy party music take 'oxford comma' a spartan funk charmer that references a piece of grammar you can look it up then there's the band's debut limited edition uk single 'mansard roof' said roof is an architectural style that offers extra living space in an attic the lyrics then go on 'the argentines collapse in defeat the admiralty surveys the remnants of the fleet' you want world music that is music of the world you want vampire weekend you can throw yourself around the moshpit to campus you can imagine what happened to characters in forthcoming single 'apunk' before they ended up in the song 'johanna drove slowly across the city the hudson river all filled with snow she spied the ring on his honour's finger ohohoh' you can shed a tear then shed your clothes at the hymnalmeetstribal thunder of 'i stand corrected' or the epic 'm79' which is named after a manhattan bus route and forms the heart of the album