The Daily Growl

It seems appropriate to follow the last post with one about Vampire Weekend, especially after Matthew spotted the nice yellow 7 inch in the Rough Trade racks and recommended that everyone buy it - “three songs of pop genius” he says, and he’s right.

Last week, the debut EP by the NYC quartet came out in the UK, and what a tasty treat it is too! Here we have an indie band whose influences extend beyond the usual suspects. Is that a hint of African music I hear in the high-pitched guitar sound and the rhythm in Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa? And don’t you go sticking your noses up at the prospect of white boys trying black music either. We know it can be done well. At least they’re doing something interesting.

They’re obviously into post-punk too. But they’re not necessarily spiky guitar and Gang-of-Four fetishists. By the time we get to the second track A-Punk, that same high-pitched guitar sound is more reminiscent of Orange Juice and the Postcard Records bands of the early 80s. And in a funny way, Oxford Comma reminds me of Prefab Sprout.

So all good stuff then. My only complaint being that clocking in at just over 9 minutes, four quid seems like quite a step price to pay for a CD single. Still, the Rough Trade website promises that it’ll be worth shedloads on eBay in a few months time. That’s if I want to sell it though. And annoyingly this week the vinyl version was released. That’ll teach me to be so hasty…

Download: Vampire Weekend – Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa

Buy the Vampire Weekend EP CD. Or maybe better, the 7 inch.