Vampire Weekend | Vampire Weekend

Family Average: 6/7

I don’t know about you, but this album colored many of my early teenaged days. Much hair gel, much Abercrombie, much ennui. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, and Vampire Weekend was there with me through it all. 

Their debut album is an iconic early noughts release that solidified their status within the New York scene, and the indie-pop world. Hailing from the Big Apple, these boys had the East Coast and beyond shooketh. 

Below, the family reviews the notable release. Did they like it? Hate it? Pop your collars and get to reading. 

Ooh, this album is special, close to perfection. Timeless and iconic, a fresh sound with the island-ish instrumentals and then those intelligent and clever lyrics that also hit you at times for their subtle relatability. There are times that the lyrics sound like nonsense when they are actually advanced and educated cultural references. Effortlessly stylish. Throwing literally any of these songs into my playlists back in the day was always fail-proof. Intelligent, eloquent, happy, it's summer or it could be fall but my head is happy. I love this album.

7/7  

Now, this is music that I can get excited about. I first heard these guys when they recorded a video in a nearby town by the ocean on the Jersey Shore. They have their own unique style, which although a bit cheeky and campy it really works for them. They are what I would call clean-cut-pink, I also see “Weaser” in this genre.  There are several tracks on this album that went on to become chart climbers, and for good reason, it is quality, original, catchy music. The vocals, the instruments, and the production is spot on. 

Is yer bed made? Is your sweater ooooon? Whoooo

6/7

This album rocked a lot of our little teen worlds when it came out. Steeped in an East Coast / NYC/ prep school sensibility, it took reference from varied genres and influence from some greats. Vampire Weekend made indie-pop the cool kid fodder, with just enough angst and pop sensibilities to strike a chord with the masses. Along the way, however, it’s had some affiliated pretensions which sort of soured the album for me. It’s also been so overplayed I’m a bit tired of it, but it’s still a good listen once in a while. 

5/7

It is difficult to talk about this album without touching on the crashing waves of nostalgia that came with revisiting the sounds. Oh, my word it’s like seeing a childhood bicycle. Unlike my busted up bicycle, however, this album has, in fact, stood the test of time. Even against the years and years of pop and pop-rock music Vampire Weekend has carved out a unique/sound for themselves. 

Bringing up the front of the new wave of “Indie” music in 2008 were bands like Vampire Weekend, MGMT, Animal Collective, the list could go on forever. These bands earned the label “Indie” for reasons that were never really clear to me. I think it was people being at a loss of words and unable to lump them in with Rock/Alternative bands that were making music at the time. I try to stop myself from saying “Indie” as often as I try to stop myself from saying “Like” this is a very difficult task to accomplish. Still, whatever you want to call it most people can agree this is a fantastic introduction to a talented group of musicians.

6/7