Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend are an American indie rock group from New York, formed in 2006 and active from that point to the present. The band’s core lineup is Ezra Koenig on vocals and guitar, Chris Baio on bass and Christopher Tomson on drums, with Rostam Batmanglij also listed as a member. The group is associated with Spring Snow, LLC and is tagged across indie rock, indie pop, alternative rock, afrobeat, chamber pop and indietronica.

History and lineup

The band forms in February 2006 in New York City. Their name comes from a film project Koenig makes during the summer of his freshman year at college. Batmanglij leaves in early 2016 to pursue a solo career, though he continues to collaborate with Koenig.

Albums and reception

Vampire Weekend release four albums: Vampire Weekend, Contra, Modern Vampires of the City and Father of the Bride. Their debut album appears in 2008 and becomes a surprise success, reaching number 17 on the Billboard 200. Contra follows in 2010, includes the single “Cousins”, and debuts at number one on the Billboard 200, making it one of the relatively small number of independently released and distributed albums to do so. Modern Vampires of the City arrives in 2013, and Father of the Bride follows in 2019.

Influences and early attention

They draw comparisons with Paul Simon, Haircut 100 and The Walkmen. During 2007, local music blogs give the band considerable attention as they move towards a deal with the independent label XL Recordings. Rolling Stone places “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” at number 57 in its list of the top 100 songs of 2007.

Style

The band describes its style using the phrases “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa”, “Upper West Side Soweto”, “Campus” and “Oxford Comma Riddim”.