Surprise package Vampire Weekend return
THEY have been the surprise success of the summer – a band that emerged from an Ivy League university in New York but sounded like they’re been chipped out of the Congolese diamond mines and sent out to write their upbeat tunes in a rudimentary treehouse above a sleeping pride of lions.
In case you’re not on message, the Calypso groove of Vampire Weekend’s otherwise straightforward indie tunes is something not seen in mainstream pop music since Paul Simon recruited himself a tribe and took African rhythms overground.
The band found success after various websites started whispering about how good their were, posting up links to their music and performances and hailing them as the band most likely to steal the limelight in 2008.
Praise
To an extent, they’ve lived up to that praise; their eponymous debut album rode high in the UK and US charts and earned them considerable attention in Europe and Australia.
Live, too, they score plenty of plaudits, in particular earning notable brownie points for their charismatic frontman Ezra Koenig.
And so, if you’ve not yet been introduced to Vampire Weekend’s “upper west side Soweto” sound, getting a dose of it live is the way to go. Good job they’re on your doorstep this week, then.
Vampire Weekend play Academy 1 on Tuesday, October 21. £13.50. Wild Beasts, El Guincho support.
Published: Sat, 11 October, 2008
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