Vampire Weekend (album)

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Vampire Weekend
Studio album by Vampire Weekend
Released January 29, 2008
Recorded 2007
Genre Indie pop, alternative rock, Afrobeat, baroque pop
Length 34:13
Label XL, DGC
Producer Rostam Batmanglij
Vampire Weekend chronology

Vampire Weekend
(2008)		 Contra
(2010)
Singles from Vampire Weekend
  1. "Mansard Roof"
    Released: October 23, 2007
  2. "A-Punk"
    Released: February 28, 2008
  3. "Oxford Comma"
    Released: May 26, 2008
  4. "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa"
    Released: August 18, 2008
  5. "The Kids Don't Stand a Chance"
    Released: November 18, 2008
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Blender [2]
The Guardian [3]
Melodic [4]
NME (8/10)[5]
The Observer [6]
Pitchfork (8.8/10)[7]
Robert Christgau A-[8]
Rolling Stone [9]
Spin [10]

Vampire Weekend is the eponymously-titled debut album by American indie rock band Vampire Weekend, released January 2008 on XL Recordings. The album was produced by band member Rostam Batmanglij, with mixing assistance from Jeff Curtin and Shane Stoneback.

In the United States, the album sold over 27,001 copies in the first week of its release, debuting at number 17 on the Billboard 200 and as of 20 January 2010, has sold nearly half a million copies.[11][12] In the album's 11th week in the UK chart, it peaked at number 15.[13] The album also reached number 37 in Australia.[14]

The album's cover photo is a Polaroid picture from one of their early shows in Columbia University.

The first single, "Mansard Roof", was released on October 28, 2007. The second single, "A-Punk", was released in early 2008. The album was ranked as the 5th-best album of 2008 by Time,[15] the 56th-best album of the decade by Rolling Stone[16] and 51st on Pitchfork's list of the Top 200 Albums of the 2000s.[17] In 2012, Rolling Stone ranked the album number 430 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".[18] The album was also ranked 24 on Rolling Stone's list of 100 greatest debut albums of all time, citing them for having inspired a wave of indie bands with world music influences, despite largely criticising the album on its release.[19]

Recording history

The album was recorded in a variety of environments including; a basement where there was "a good set up for recording drums"; a barn; the apartments of two band members and Tree Fort studio in Brooklyn. The locations bore an effect on the sound that was produced, demonstrated by a session recorded early in 2007 at a barn, which resulted in "really echoey drums".[20]

In October 2007, the lead singer Ezra Koenig, said that the band had "some of the tracks [...] for a long time", so they were aware of how the album would sound but that it was "just a matter of tightening it up and remixing it a little". Koenig also said that the band was "really excited" and "psyched" about two songs in particular, which were recorded around September 2007, called "I Stand Corrected" and "M79".[20]

Sales

  • The album had sold 498,000 copies in the US in early 2010. It has since been certified Gold in the United States (sales over 500,000).
  • The album has been certified Platinum in the UK (sales over 300,000).

Track listing

All lyrics written by Ezra Koenig, all music by Vampire Weekend (Rostam Batmanglij, Ezra Koenig, Christopher Tomson and Chris Baio) unless otherwise noted.

No. Title Length
1. "Mansard Roof"   2:07
2. "Oxford Comma"   3:15
3. "A-Punk"   2:17
4. "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa"   3:34
5. "M79" (additional lyrics by Rostam Batmanglij) 4:15
6. "Campus" (music and lyrics by Rostam Batmanglij, additional lyrics by Ezra Koenig) 2:56
7. "Bryn"   2:13
8. "One (Blake's Got a New Face)" (contains elements of "Obeah Wedding" Slinger Francisco) 3:13
9. "I Stand Corrected"   2:39
10. "Walcott"   3:41
11. "The Kids Don't Stand a Chance"   4:03

Japanese bonus tracks

No. Title Length
12. "Ladies of Cambridge [a.k.a. Boston]"   2:40
13. "Arrows"   3:04

Personnel

Charts

Charts (2008) Peak position
ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart[14] 37
Swedish Albums Chart[14] 44
UK Albums Chart[14] 15
UK Indie Chart[citation needed] 1
US Billboard 200[14] 17

References

  1. ↑ Phares, Heather (2008-01-29). "Allmusic review". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2012-06-05. 
  2. ↑ Blender review
  3. ↑ Alexis Petridis. "The Guardian review". Music.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-06-05. 
  4. ↑ Spinelli, Tom. "Melodic review". Melodic.net. Retrieved 2012-06-05. 
  5. ↑ "NME review". Nme.com. 2008-02-01. Retrieved 2012-06-05. 
  6. ↑ Mike Barnes. "The Observer review". Observer.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-06-05. 
  7. ↑ "Pitchfork review". Pitchfork.com. 2008-01-28. Retrieved 2012-06-05. 
  8. ↑ "Robert Christgau review". Robertchristgau.com. 2010-02-08. Retrieved 2012-06-05. 
  9. ↑ "Rolling Stone review". Rollingstone.com. Retrieved 2012-06-05. 
  10. ↑ "Spin review". Spin.com. Retrieved 2012-06-05. 
  11. ↑ Norris, John (2008-02-06). "Vampire Weekend Take Their Preppy, Indie Afropop To The Billboard Top 20". MTV. Retrieved 2008-02-12. 
  12. ↑ "Vampire Weekend Lands First No. 1 Album". Billboard. 20 January 2010. 
  13. ↑ "BBC Radio 1 Chart Show: The UK Top 40 Albums". BBC. Retrieved 2008-02-12. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 "Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend - Music Charts". acharts.us. Retrieved 19 December 2011. 
  15. ↑ Tyrangiel, Josh (2008-11-03). "The Top 10 Everything of 2008 - Top 10 Albums". Time Magazine. Retrieved 2010-03-14. 
  16. ↑ "100 Best Albums of the Decade". Rolling Stone. 2009-12-09. Retrieved 2012-06-14. 
  17. ↑ "Pitchfork Staff Lists: The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s: 100-51". Pitchfork Media. 2009-09-30. 
  18. ↑ Wenner, Jann S., ed. (2012). Rolling Stone - Special Collectors Issue - The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time. USA: Wenner Media Specials. ISBN 978-7098934196
  19. ↑ http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-100-greatest-debut-albums-of-all-time-20130322/vampire-weekend-19691231
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Vampire Weekend reveal debut album details". NME. 2008-02-06. Retrieved 2008-06-02. 

External links

Vampire Weekend
Studio albums
Singles
Related articles
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