Vampire Weekend (by Vampire Weekend)

As a general rule, I'm not that into bands that are critics' darlings. It's not that I want to be a hipster who likes all the stuff that the critics don't like. It's that most of the time, I don't think the critics are right.

As I get older, though, I'm starting to learn that being opposed to critics' darlings means eating my words when I realize that they're actually pretty good.

I'm looking at you Against Me!, Radiohead, Arctic Monkeys, and more that I'm forgetting.

But don't worry, I'm sure The Dude will chime in with more that I've forgotten when he reads this.

Anyway, with our trip to Bonaroo fast approaching, I decided to start listening to the stuff we own by bands who are playing. My approach has been to take artists day-by-day as they'll appear on the lineup. Thurday has MGMT and Vampire Weekend appearing in the evening, so I pulled out the Vampire Weekend disc.

It's fun and quirky. I like it a lot.

No doubt you've heard their single "A-Punk" in heavy rotation on MTV, unless you don't watch MTV. But let's face it, you're as addicted to their America's Next Top Model reruns as I am so you do. Or what about The Paper? Or A Shot at Love 2: Electric Boogaloo?

No? Okay then...never mind.

Ahem.

Anyway, Vampire Weekend's major label debut is fun and channels both Graceland-era Paul Simon and Phantom Planet, you know...that band the kid from Rushmore is in?

Lyrically, it's pretty nimble, though I was glad that there were only 11 songs because it started to sound precious by the end. They don't move much past the experiences that twenty-somethings have, and their songs certainly aren't political. But, they also don't fall into the Maroon5 trap of being sugary sweet love ballads, either. It's just typical, normal, everyday stuff--like a song about a guy who's tasked with killing some vampires.

And sonically, the album shows that Vampire Weekend has a range beyond just a guitar, a bass, and a drum kit. I liked the range they showed.

The album is certainly worth a listen. It's fun, it's quirky, and it's short. So even if you hate it, you're not stuck listening to it for long!