Album Review - Vampire Weekend (7.5/10)

This is my wife's new favorite album . She says it reminds her of Paul Simon's "Graceland" only more whimsical. I think it reminds me of XTC doing the wedding band circuit. Either way, the common denominator in all the bands songs on its first album are fun. Pure saccharine fun.

We had some friends over to dinner, who have a young 3 year old, and I was suprised at how well this album played with a youngster. Having children around makes you hyper aware of the mood of the music, and having darker, brooding music playing with a little one in the room always seems awkward. But Vampire Weekend could make an appearance on Sesame Street as easily as SXSW, even though they drop the occasional barely discernable F-bomb.

Come January, February, this album may be a little too over the top. But the sun is shining, the surfboard's on the rack, and I don't want to think about, well, anything. Here's to this summer's positive alternative to doing drugs.