With U.S. and European tours already under its belt, New York buzz band Vampire Weekend has something else to celebrate: its long-awaited self-titled debut hits stores this week via XL Recordings.
The 11-song set was mostly culled from sessions the group did in early 2007 with the intent to circulate the material to labels. Two new songs, “M79” and “I Stand Corrected” were recorded and added to the final track listing after Vampire Weekend signed with XL.
“I feel like a lot of people have heard of us, starting in the summer, and they’ve been writing about a speculative way,” bassist Chris Baio tells says. “Maybe they’ve only heard three MP3s or seen us live. I think we’ve all been pretty anxious to have it out there.”
Vampire Weekend’s sound has been likened to the Afro-Caribbean vibe of albums like Paul Simon’s “Graceland,” and listeners will find it fully present on the debut. “I think this version represents our full sound,” Baio says. “There were some sections where drum parts were changed; some vocals might have been redone, and I re-recorded bass for one song. Little touch-ups [like] that might not make a difference to most listeners but made a difference to us.”
