It's surprisingly easy to dive into Vampire
Weekend's odd world, even as harpsichords crash into genteel Afro-pop ("M79")
and characters debate grammar over bouncy organ and guitar ("Oxford Comma").
The young band's saving grace is compactness, which not only saves thousands of
dollars in kora-player and backup-singer bills, but also keeps things alert and
accessible. Ezra Koenig crafts flirtatious vocal melodies, rarely falling back
on the novelty of his lyrics, which remain unusal throughout ("But this feels
so unnatural / Peter Gabriel too"). For an African-flavored hook, VW needs just
a prickly twirl of guitar ("Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa"), and the band does without
a tacky section of hand-drummers, too—drummer Chris Tomson interprets
African and Caribbean rhythms with resourceful pluck. Still, this self-titled
debut basically has two moods—perky ("A-Punk") and
kinda-blue-but-still-perky ("I Stand Corrected")—which puts VW in slight
danger of sounding like indie rock's Congo River cruise-boat band. There's reason
to hope those limitations won't last, because Vampire Weekend seems to
understand where quirk ends and decent songwriting begins.