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Vampire Weekend emerged from the fertile New York indie-rock scene with a completely individual sound, which incorporates quirky pop, South African traditional music, ska, clever lyrics, and really all the best things about college rock of the 80's.

"When we think about brainy, over-educated New York City bands that are too smart for their own good, we typically imagine them coming from NYU. But we forget that there’s a little Ivy League school way uptown called Columbia, where the bar scene might not be as good, but, if Vampire Weekend is any indicator, New York’s next great bands may be forming right now. Listening to Vampire Weekend’s self-titled debut, the Ivy League thing is impossible to avoid, and seeing them in person, it’s even harder; it’s as if they’re four missing members of Salinger’s Glass family. Their lyrics are endearingly wordy, delivered in a smooth, crystal-clear voice by singer/guitarist Ezra Koenig. The accompanying music is an expertly crafted, loving homage to first-wave ska, full of infectious, hard-to-follow drumming and squiggly guitar fills and melodies that reveal the influence of South African music — or at the very least, Graceland, which would be fine too. Always present, though, is their keen sense of melody as informed by American pop music. It is a mess of influences, obviously, but their vision of what they want to be is so studied and clear that the results are as perfectly tasteful and wonderfully charming as they are fresh and unexpected. And on top of that, it’s a rare band that can make songs about mansard roofs and Oxford Commas so universally enjoyable." -- The L Magazine