Vampire Weekend, Troxy, review - Telegraph When politicians hitch their names to bands it tends to end in embarrassment for all concerned. David Cameron's admission that he loves The Smiths resulted in guitarist Johnny Marr publicly forbidding the Prime Minister from doing do. And when Ed Miliband took to the stage for his first conference speech as Labour leader in 2010 to the song A-Punk by Vampire Weekend, he was criticised by commentators for his "absurd" choice. Far from being current - as was clearly the intention - the song was almost three years old, making Miliband look like the proverbial dancing uncle at the wedding. Following this some wags started referring to the band as Vampire Weeknight or even Grandpa Weekend. But the co-opting of the New York four-piece's music by the political establishment tells another tale about Vampire Weekend - just how massive they have become. Their 2010 album Contra was number 1 in the US and made them festival favourites the world over with their breezy, percussive, Africa-tinged indie pop. Which is why the band find themselves at something of a crossroads now. Their follow-up to Contra, called Modern Vampires of the City, fits neatly into the traditional 'difficult third album" category. The band is older and more world-weary. In a recent NME interview singer Ezra Koenig admitted falling into a "weird Bret Easton Ellis type malaise" prior to the album's recording. "We had to prove why we deserved to still be in a band," he said. Koenig's new songs with co-writer Rostam Batmanglij reflect this new depth, addressing issues such as growing old and disillusionment over American foreign policy. But thankfully for fans at this packed and energetic show in east London's Troxy, the honesty and maturity of the music took nothing away from its catchiness. Quite the opposite. Vampire Weekend simply don't do po-faced. They opened with three old songs, including Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa, before launching into frenetic new single Diane Young, which with its parping brass and Elvis-like chorus sounded like the essence of summer distilled into 2 minutes and 40 seconds. Vampire Weekend - Diane Young on MUZU.TV. Other new tracks such as Ya Hey and Obvious Bicycle were slower but managed to be both lyrically robust and musically delicate. The only disappointment was Step, which sounded disconcertingly like a novelty rap song by Coolio. In front of a backdrop of pink blossom the band were clearly loving being back. Old favourites such as Oxford Comma, Holiday, Walcott and (yes) A-Punk were greeted like returning friends. Vampire Weekend: the sound of a glorious spring arriving after a long and miserable winter. And not a politician in sight.