Mansard Roof (song)
Encyclopedia
"Mansard Roof" is the debut single by indie rock band, Vampire Weekend
, released on October 23, 2007.
writer Anna Pickard wrote a commentary about the song, discussing the song itself as "one of the happiest, summeriest songs you could ever imagine" and humorously describing the band as "a bunch of nice little boys on a sailboat having some tea and deciding to be in the sixties [...] whilst experimenting with African pop rhythms and retro shades."
Pitchfork Media
writer, Mark Richardson, commented that in the video "they had some fun with their packaged image as clever Ivy League grads by embracing it completely".
described Koenig's vocals as sounding "as if on a day out from the institution, picking geraniums and wavering with the beauty of the world outside" and said that "whilst utterly unconvincing" that there was "something unwholesomely satisfying about it all". The single was summarised as, "unnervingly gratifying mundane schlop". Pitchfork Media
described the keyboard as being "set to a perky, almost piping tone, the kind of sunny sound you'd hear in old west-African pop". Drowned in Sound decried the branding of the band as "afro-pop" and said the single was "far from the 'afro-pop' hyperbole."
Click Music described the two tracks as "beautiful, high-brow indie-pop sparklers that feel like sunshine and roll through the body like smoke expelled from Sinatra's lungs" and said that "Mansard Roof" was "jazzy and bright, trimmed with bulging afro-beats" and called "Ladies of Cambridge" "as stellar as the title-track".
Vampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend is an American indie rock band from New York City that formed in 2006 and signed to XL Recordings. The Band has four members: Ezra Koenig, Rostam Batmanglij, Chris Tomson, and Chris Baio. The band released its first album Vampire Weekend in 2008, which produced the singles "Mansard...
, released on October 23, 2007.
Music video
"Mansard Roof" was the first song from Vampire Weekend's album to have a video. The video was filmed in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. The main scene in the video, directed by Alexis Boling, is set on a yacht and uses still frames. The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
writer Anna Pickard wrote a commentary about the song, discussing the song itself as "one of the happiest, summeriest songs you could ever imagine" and humorously describing the band as "a bunch of nice little boys on a sailboat having some tea and deciding to be in the sixties [...] whilst experimenting with African pop rhythms and retro shades."
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
writer, Mark Richardson, commented that in the video "they had some fun with their packaged image as clever Ivy League grads by embracing it completely".
Critical reception
Drowned in SoundDrowned in Sound
DrownedinSound.com or DiS is a UK based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway . The site is an editorially independent music website.-History:...
described Koenig's vocals as sounding "as if on a day out from the institution, picking geraniums and wavering with the beauty of the world outside" and said that "whilst utterly unconvincing" that there was "something unwholesomely satisfying about it all". The single was summarised as, "unnervingly gratifying mundane schlop". Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
described the keyboard as being "set to a perky, almost piping tone, the kind of sunny sound you'd hear in old west-African pop". Drowned in Sound decried the branding of the band as "afro-pop" and said the single was "far from the 'afro-pop' hyperbole."
Click Music described the two tracks as "beautiful, high-brow indie-pop sparklers that feel like sunshine and roll through the body like smoke expelled from Sinatra's lungs" and said that "Mansard Roof" was "jazzy and bright, trimmed with bulging afro-beats" and called "Ladies of Cambridge" "as stellar as the title-track".
External links
- Vampire Weekend on XL Recordings - Album page on record label's site
- "Mansard Roof" music video - as provided by record label on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....