You can’t blame Vampire Weekend for this.
US pop groups have been injecting their songs with African influences for years so don’t write Fool’s Gold off as copycats. And the eclectic rush of music that comes out of their self-titled debut is far more than can be described by just referencing that vast continent.
There’s as much American pop music in there as anything else, for one thing. Half the songs are in Hebrew, half in English, but all of them are fascinating experiments with rhythm, melody and pure sound. Tribal chanting and desert parties meet drum machines and electrifying guitar riffs in an album that is consistently inventive, mesmerising and incredibly danceable.
Just don’t call it world music.
7/10
Words by Steve Harris
