Vampire Weekend are (officially) back! All is right in the world again! I have some college work to catch up on, but how could I concentrate when there is brand new Vampire Weekend to post about???

Vampire Weekend’s new single “Cousins” is finally here in recorded form! I can give up listening to Cousins live all day now. Hurray! My roommate will certainly be pleased!

If I had to compare it to a song on their debut album, it would have to be “A-Punk”. Both are short, quick, pumping rockers. I really adore Ezra’s quick chants of “Ay Ay! Oo Ah! Ay Ay Oo Ah!” at the beginning of “Cousins”! It wasn’t in their live performances so it was a really pleasant surprise. Chris Thompson absolutely pounds the drums with full authority, showing more confidence in his skills with the sticks. This pounding rhythm rides over Chris Baio’s pulse driving bass line. Ezra and Rostam contribute some really nifty surf like guitar riffs that make the song whole. The song is an absolute ball of energy. This single has elements of surf music, especially in that Dick Dale guitar riff.

The song absolutely captures the essence of Vampire Weekend’s music. Smart, quick, witty, clean, and instantly gratifying. The band sounds tighter as a whole, playing off each other, really dominating their instruments. Ezra’s voice was born to lead the way for their afro-ska instrumentation. His yelpy singing and the unique phrasing of his witty lyrics are impossible to dislike.

As far as I am concerned, I have yet to be disappointed by Vampire Weekend in anyway, shape, or form!

This is a perfect single for Vampire Weekend. It will have the crowd’s shouting over their split booze and clouds of weed during the festivals next summer. Vampire Weekend just made all of your cousins cool again. I will have no problem screaming this chorus outloud!

[mp3] : Vampire Weekend – Cousins (Link removed per the labels request!)

** Buy the single from amazon (mp3) or insound (vinyl)

Speaking of crowds, VW announced some tour dates for this winter. There are 3 NYC tour dates, and I am planning to attend the Bowery Ballroom show, and possibly the United Palace Theater show. Who else is down?

Dates after the jump

Here are the dates:

11-17 Tokyo, Japan – Tokyo Unit
11-21 Sydney, Australia – Oxford Art Factory
11-23 Sydney, Australia – Notes on Enmore (free)
12-10 Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom (94.7FM “A December To Remember” concert series)
12-11 Oakland, CA – Oracle Arena (Live 105 “Not So Silent Night 2009″)
12-12 La Jolla, CA – RIMAC Arena/UC San Diego (FM949 “Holiday Hootenanny”)
12-13 Los Angeles, CA – Gibson Amphitheater (KROQ “Acoustic Christmas”)
12-15 Seattle, WA – WaMu Theater (KNDD The End’s “Deck The Hall Ball ‘09″)
01-12 Los Angeles, CA – Henry Fonda Theater
01-17 New York, NY – United Palace Theater
01-18 New York, NY – Webster Hall
01-19 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
02-07 Cambridge, England – Corn Exchange
02-08 Manchester, England – Manchester Apollo
02-09 Leeds, England – Leeds O2 Academy
02-10 Birmingham, England – Birmingham O2 Academy
02-12 Newcastle, England – Newcastle O2 Academy
02-13 Glasgow, Scotland – Barrowlands
02-14 Edinburgh, Scotland – Edinburgh Picture House
02-16 London, England – Brixton O2 Academy
02-17 London, England – Brixton O2 Academy

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