It's been twenty years (twenty one, actually), so I suppose it's time for a Graceland revival. And it may only be Thursday, but the Vampire Weekend starts early tonight at Johnny Brenda's. The four preppy guys pictured above don't hail from Transylvania, however: they're Columbia grads who cheekily refer to their music as "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa," a reference to an album title by the African soukous star Kanda Bongo Man. And like Paul Simon did, these preppy white guys pair music pulled from Afro-pop sources with lyrical concerns native to their self-described "Upper West Side Soweto" milieu. There's no album out yet, but an EP is for sale on iTunes, and their music can be heard here. Tonight, the Vampires open for Tokyo Police Club and Ra Ra Riot, two indie bands whose buzz they've eclipsed.
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