More frequently these days I find myself veering towards the crotchetiness that advancing years tend to thrust upon men. This often manifests itself by actively ignoring hot new acts with a “these kids today” kind of dismissal. This really doesn’t hurt anyone except me, as I miss out on some really great music.

I had directed this crotchetiness at Vampire Weekend earlier this year. The singles that got leaked on the net tended to be poorly produced and noisy, so it was easy to write off the Gotham act as unlistenable. Once they started to get some hype, the grumpy old man persona was firmly entrenched.

Well, I’m not to old and grumpy to admit when I’m wrong, albeit a little late – Vampire Weekend are the real deal. The NYC quartet are nearly flawless in their self-titled debut. The most charming thing about these guys is that they’re insightful enough to realize that there is no truly “new” music. With that in mind they draw from diverse genres (ska, dub, Afro-pop, post-punk) to make the closest thing to a new sound that I’ve heard since Arcade Fire’s debut. What’s truly incredible is that they draw these diverse influences together as effortlessly as anyone has since the heyday of the Talking Heads.

I know I’m about the last music blogger on the interweb to tout these guys, but if for some reason you haven’t bought their debut – do so now. I’ve pasted two of my favorite tracks below. The full-length album (XL) is available from eMusic, Amazon and Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend.

MP3: Vampire Weekend – “Oxford Comma”
MP3: Vampire Weekend – “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa”

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