Vam­pire Week­end’s self-titled debut reeks of priv­i­lege, yet is so strange­ly self-assured, com­pelling and total­ly New York City that I need­ed to check my watch to remind myself how long ago Is This It? came out.

But will it make my 2008 top ten?

Added note: Lef­setz thinks that the role of the crit­ic is dimin­ish­ing. Who does he think sets these hype cycles in motion? These bands don’t just mate­ri­al­ize deus ex machi­na, or if they do, crit­ics keep the hype ham­ster wheel spin­ning. Maybe he does­n’t real­ize it, but from this crit­ic’s per­spec­tive, it’s pret­ty remark­able when any band sur­faces above the fray and can endure as a buzz for more than eight months! Think what you will of Vam­pire Week­end, but if their debut ends up on ’08 year-end lists after being released in Jan­u­ary, it’ll be quite an accomplishment.

Last­ly, so-called tastemak­ers aren’t as com­mit­ted to the suc­cess or fail­ure of a giv­en band as he might think. For an influ­en­tial, self-impor­tant guy, his faux pop­ulist act tends to wear a lit­tle thin.