Vampire Weekend (album)

Vampire Weekend is the debut studio album by American rock band Vampire Weekend, released on January 29, 2008 by XL Recordings. The album was produced by band member Rostam Batmanglij, with mixing assistance from Jeff Curtin and Shane Stoneback. Released after a year of building internet buzz, the album showcased the band's unique hybrid of indie pop, chamber music, and Afropop influences.

In the United States, the album debuted at number 17 on the Billboard 200. In the album's 11th week in the UK chart, it peaked at number 15. The album also reached number 37 in Australia. It was accompanied by the singles "Mansard Roof", "A-Punk", "Oxford Comma", "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa", and "The Kids Don't Stand a Chance".

The album was ranked as the 5th-best album of 2008 by Time, the 56th-best album of the decade by Rolling Stone and 51st on Pitchfork's list of the Top 200 Albums of the 2000s. In 2012, Rolling Stone ranked the album number 430 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".

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". The album draws influence from African pop styles such as soukous and Congolese rumba while incorporating string textures and harpsichords. The group jokingly described this hybrid of indie, afropop, and chamber pop as "Upper West Side Soweto."

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".

The album's cover depicts the chandelier in St. Anthony Hall, a Columbia University semi-secret society. The photo is a Polaroid picture from one of the band's early shows at Columbia.

Release
The album sold over 27,000 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.

The album was ranked as the 5th-best album of 2008 by Time, the 56th-best album of the decade by Rolling Stone and 51st on Pitchfork's list of the Top 200 Albums of the 2000s. In 2012, Rolling Stone ranked the album number 430 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". 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 criticizing the album on its release. Paul Simon has spoken out in favor of the album, responding to the derision of some for perceived similarities to Simon's 1986 album Graceland and confirming that he does not consider the album to contain any stolen work.

Critical reception
Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Heather Phares wrote, "Everything is concise, concentrated, distilled, vivid; Vampire Weekend's world is extremely specific and meticulously crafted, and Vampire Weekend often feels like a concept album about preppy guys who grew up with classical music and recently got really into world music. Amazingly, instead of being alienating, the band's quirks are utterly winning." At The A.V. Club, Gordon Scott claimed that, "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." Talking about the band's array of musical styles in the review for Blender, Ben Sisario felt that, "Vampire Weekend’s version of globalization is too tightly and smartly woven to be mere dilettantism, and at times Koenig is emphatic, even desperate, about escaping white-bred familiarity"

In a review for The Guardian, Alexis Petridis claimed that, "Behind the penny loafers and songs about commas, there's a bold band that can balance dexterous originality with an innate pop sensibility." Writing for NME, Sam Richards commented that, "A mischievous pop sensibility ensures all these little experiments come off as refreshing quirks rather than heinous transgressions." At Pitchfork, Nitsuh Abebe stated, "Bring any baggage you want to this record, and it still returns nothing but warm, airy, low-gimmick pop, peppy, clever, and yes, unpretentious--four guys who listened to some Afro-pop records, picked up a few nice ideas, and then set about making one of the most refreshing and replayable indie records in recent years."

Personnel
Vampire Weekend
 * Ezra Koenig – lead vocals, guitar, piano, hand drum
 * Rostam Batmanglij – organ, Chamberlin, piano, harpsichord, guitar, vocal harmonies, drum and synth programming, shaker
 * Chris Baio – bass
 * Christopher Tomson – drums, guitar

Additional musicians
 * Hamilton Berry – cello
 * Jonathan Chu – violin, viola
 * Jeff Curtin – hand drums, shaker
 * Wesley Miles – vocals
 * Jessica Pavone – violin, viola
 * Joey Roth – hand drums

Production
 * Rostam Batmanglij – production, string arrangements, engineering, mixing
 * Jeff Curtin – engineering, mixing
 * Shane Stoneback – engineering, mixing
 * Emily Lazar – mastering
 * Joe LaPorta – mastering assistance

Artwork
 * Annie Reeds – cover photograph
 * Rostam Batmanglij – additional photographs, design
 * Phil Lee – design
 * Asher Sarlin – design

In popular culture
The song "Campus" was used in Gossip Girl and I Love You, Man. "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" was used in Viper Club and a trailer for The Big Sick. "Mansard Roof" was used in Grey's Anatomy and Someone Great. "Oxford Comma" was used in The Chair, Roswell, New Mexico, New Girl, Suits, How I Met Your Mother and I Love You, Man. The song "A-Punk" was used in the 2008 film Step Brothers and Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.