A (Blog) Nation Divided

For a band with only a three-song EP to its name, Vampire Weekend sure has polarized the indie rock blogs. It’s like a cage match between hype and backlash: on one side you’ve got a long line of critics and fans hailing the New York band’s refreshingly polyrhythmic, Afro-pop sensibilities, while on the other, there are just as many people resenting the mounting hype or their sunny tunes or both. (You can sample some of that criticism, which ranges from “What’s the big deal about this band?” to “They’re the Jimmy Buffetts of indie rock,” here.)

The band, which formed while its members attended Columbia University, describes its sound as “Upper West Side Soweto.” Critics most often reference similarities to Paul Simon’s Graceland, and after a recent Big Apple gig, The New York Times applauded the band’s “playful indie-rock grooves: plinky keyboards and spidery guitar lines, rattling drums and nudging bass” that “feels fresh and funny and, weirdly, inevitable.” I’ll keep it simple and say that I immediately enjoyed Vampire Weekend’s songs and looked forward to hearing them live, and that opportunity presents itself tomorrow night in Fishtown.

Vampire Weekend (with Public Record)
Thursday, September 13, 2007
9PM
The Manhattan Room (15 W. Girard Avenue)
Tickets: $10

Image by Flickr user gaelenh