Download of the Week: Vampire Weekend
I grew up on lots of different records, but a major part of my musical childhood came from Paul Simon's African-influenced album, Graceland. It turns
I grew up on lots of different records, but a major part of my musical childhood came from Paul Simon’s African-influenced album, Graceland. It turns out i wasn’t the only one.Hailing from New York, you’d expect the four-piece Vampire Weekend to sound very little like the man who brought Ladysmith Black Mambazo to fame – and a baked bean advert – but it seems Afro-beat is trendy these days (see The Good, The Bad and The Queen).The influence may not be that apparent on opener Mansford Roof, or, for that matter, on single A-Punk, both of which would pass fairly unnoticed on daytime indie radio but Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa is a different story. The riff is straight off of Graceland, as are the drums, but to call Vampire Weekend little more than a tribute band would be unfair.Like The Shins before them, Vampire Weekend make refreshingly simple pop music which certainly won’t blow your conceptions of indie, but when you realise you’ve not listened to anything else for a week, you definitely won’t feel short changed.You can pick up the self-titled debut album in DRM-free MP3 right now from 7digital.com for £7.49.
Dan Grabham
Editor-in-Chief 
