Saturday, January 26, 2008

Album of the Month - Vampire Weekend

The self-titled album from Vampire Weekend is released this week on January 29th. The New York based band signed to XL Recording for their debut, one of the most anticipated album's of the first half of the year (at least for me it is). The song 'Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa' made Rolling Stones' Top 100 Songs of 2007, coming in at #67. The band even got an opening slot with The Shins this past year. Not bad considering their album has not been released yet and the track was released only as a digital EP.

Vampire Weekend, who met while studying at Columbia University, formed in 2006. The band describe their music as "Upper Westside Soweto," a reference to their Afro-pop sound. The first single is called 'Mansard Roof' and it was released on October 28th, 2007. The next one is 'A-Punk' and for some reason I absolutely love their video for it. If you get a chance check it out. However, my favourite song has to be 'Bryn.' It's short but sweet and the slick guitars will stick in your head. Other songs include 'Oxford Comma,' 'Campus' and 'M79,' all very good songs. Here is a full tracklisting:

Tracklisting
1. Mansard Roof
2. Oxford Comma
3. A-Punk
4. Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
5. M79
6. Campus
7. Bryn
8. One (Blake's Got a New Face)
9. I Stand Corrected
10. Walcott
11. Kids Don't Stand a Chance

Vampire Weekend are currently touring North America and play the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto on February 11th. Check their MySpace page for a full listing.

FYI: At the moment you can stream Vampire Weekend's new album in its entirety on MuchMusic.com. Sample it, you'll probably love it.

Vampire Weekend: Official Website

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