Latest Vampire Weekend is More Hump Day Than Weekend

Vampire Weekend

Sorry, I took a hiatus, and I have lots of music to review in order to catch up.  My first review is the third album from Vampire Weekend, the collegiate New York band that has been the darling of the indie scene for the last seven years.  And yep, I have kept up with them since they first broke the scene.  My wives made a gift of their eponymous debut for my 38th birthday.  And what a gift.  This catchy album became a favorite with the whole family.  It was highly original and infectious, every single song a groove to get your finger tapping and your head nodding - part Harry Belafonte, equal parts Paul Simon with a smattering of nerdy punk/ ska.  "Mansard Roof", "A-Punk", "I Stand Corrected", a delightful song about a vampire named "Walcott", the reggae rhythm of "The Kids Don't Stand a Chance", the funky beats of "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" and "Campus", and my absolute favorite, "Oxford Comma".  The whole album is iconic to me and will always remind me of this happy time in my life, the kind of happiness that never comes back again.

Speaking of something that never comes back again, the same magic was not quite there on their sophomore album, "Contra".  There are a few great songs on this album, and even a couple of good ones.  But generally, it did not grab me like the first masterpiece.  It seems like once a pop artist establishes a sort of kitsch, it is hard to break out of it.

And so it is with is with their third effort, "Modern Vampires of the City".

This year's Grammy's were a major disappointment - a stupor of commercial glitter.  There were only two bands worth mentioning, and that was The National and Vampire Weekend, both up for the Alternative Album category.  Honestly, I was rooting for The National, because I feel like they have more artistic integrity.  But it was Vampire Weekend that took home the golden statuette.

Don't get me wrong.  It's a pretty good album.  But that is the unfortunate result of having a masterpiece as your first album - you will always be doomed to live in the shadow of your own creation.  The first album was like a feverish jam session in the dorm of some ivy league school for half-naked co-eds.  This album is more like a bloated Paul Simon concert in Central Park.

As a whole, you could play this music in the background, and it is a pretty good listen.  But there are only a couple of songs that seize you.  One being "Step", the only song that I think captures the synergy of their debut.  Other songs of note are the discordant "Hudson", and "Young Lion", which sounds like it was lifted from Bon Iver.

But after a listen, I need to clean my palate with the earlier work of this otherwise brilliant band.  I truly hope that they recapture their muse.