It would take a lot for Vampire Weekend's debut to rise above the stench of privileged hype that surrounds it. A bunch of kids who formed the band in their Columbia dorm room borrow wholesale from Afrobeat and angular '80s stuff, and they quickly become an online buzz band before releasing a single album? Thankfully the record, and the band, are great fun: playful, pop-wise, and smart enough to pull their shtick off with aplomb. Organ and drums are often the focal point of the music, bringing to mind a goofier, happier Clinic (if that group's record-collecting habits were more scattershot). On the excellently named (and better sounding) "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa," Vampire Weekend asks, "Does it feel so unnatural / To Peter Gabriel too?," immediately disarming--with self-aware brazenness--any criticism of their pomo/postcolonialist borrowing of "ethnic" music. It's clear that these dudes have not only inherited the nerd-rock omnivore's mantle from the Talking Heads, they've actually and already improved upon it. --Mike McGonigal

This NY four-piece draw on their diverse backgrounds and interests, experimenting with African guitar music, the Western classical canon, hazy memories of Cape Cod summers, winters in upper Manhattan, and reggaeton. "Equal parts shruggy New York indie strumming and groovy Afro-pop, Vampire Weekend's organ-and-drum runs highlight narratives about relationships, punctuation, and sometimes both" - Spin. Named "Hot New Kids" in Rolling Stone's "Hot" issue. Vinyl contains MP3 coupon.

This cd is a happy cd. I loved the band so much I purchased it for a couple of friends to spread the word of the band. Later on saw them featured on MTV...WAY TO GO!! I hope everyone enjoys this cd as much as I did.

This album is great. At first I didn't know what to expect, but the songs are catchy and will liven up your day. Worth a listen, and at this price it is a steal.

I won't go into a lengthy review - I just saw that this was at $5 for a digital download, and I wanted to say, pull the trigger - it's an absolute steal. I bought this a while back in hard copy after stumbling across the album on Amazon and getting a good feeling about it. It continues to be one of my favorite albums I own. Witty, catchy, and upbeat, with a living, thriving sound, the album reminds me of driving from the suburbs to the city in the summertime with the windows down. Windy and bright, youthful and euphoric, this album is lovely enough to make you smile, lively enough to make you dance, catchy enough to make you sing. And even after looking at the lyrics, you don't know what the f*** they're talking about. And honestly, that might be the best part.

Being behind the curve (read: someone who never watches MTV or reads Rolling Stone), I had not heard of Vampire Weekend until I read the Best of 2008 Music section in the BOSTON GLOBE. At least four of that paper's music critics listed this CD as one of the year's best, so I bought in.

A strong taste of pop for sure, with a nice hint of afro influences a la Paul Simon (who also mined the African continent for musical inspiration). The music is undeniably peppy and catchy and even naysayers will have to catch themselves from toe-tapping along. The album opens strong with "Mansard Roof" and goes one better with the best tune of the set, "Oxford Comma." You quickly find similarities between the songs (to some, a weakness, but to others, a strength). The lyrics are clever and oh-so-collegiate (I mean, writing about punctuation? Let's pull an all-nighter to finish our thesis and write a song about it!).

Catchy tunes have their limits, however. The song "One (Blake Has a New Face)," for instance, burrows in your head and then won't leave it. You know the feeling -- when an overly-repetitive song bounces around in your head all day long even when you try to will it out once and for all? Listen to "Blake" at your own risk. Still, overall, great fun. To those who say these guys from Columbia are overrated or overhyped, I say, "Relax. Have some fun. This isn't Beethoven we're talking...."

If not completely unique (though it's pretty good compare3d to the current state), it IS completely fun! You can't be unhappy listening to this album and nothing is better than that.