Indie darlings Vampire Weekend are hitting the road again in support of their long-awaited debut self-titled album. The band first emerged in 2006 and quickly cultivated a large Internet fanbase. Though it took a couple years to rework many of the web-released songs, it was worth the wait. Vampire Weekend’s literary indie-pop songs are the stuff Sundance Film Festival award winners are made of.

Their debut is chock-full of quirky melodies and referential lyrics: “First the window, then it’s to the wall / Why would you tape my conversations? / Show your paintings at the United Nations / Lil’ Jon, he always tells the truth.”

College life is aptly depicted, with songs like “Oxford Comma” and “Campus” transporting you to classes at a British university. But don’t think Vampire Weekend is the stuffiest band this side of the Atlantic. Sunny world music touches transform this indie band’s potential pretentiousness into polite, Jamaican punk-tinged dance tunes.

It’s difficult to imagine a band that can successfully combine a love of libraries with Caribbean influences and a punk rock heart, but if anyone can do it, Vampire Weekend can.

Vampire Weekend performs at The Joint September 15 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $17.

By Caitlin McGarry

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