Released after a year of building internet interest, the album showcased the band's unique hybrid of indie pop, chamber music, and Afropop influences.

The locations bore an effect on the sound that was produced, demonstrated by a session recorded early in 2007 at a barn, which resulted in "really echoey drums".

[11] The album draws influence from African pop styles such as soukous and Congolese rumba while incorporating string textures and harpsichords.

"[2] In October 2007, the lead singer Ezra Koenig, said that the band had "some of the tracks [...] for a long time", so they were aware of how the album would sound but that it was "just a matter of tightening it up and remixing it a little".

[19] Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Heather Phares wrote, "Everything is concise, concentrated, distilled, vivid; Vampire Weekend's world is extremely specific and meticulously crafted, and Vampire Weekend often feels like a concept album about preppy guys who grew up with classical music and recently got really into world music.

"[20] Talking about the band's array of musical styles in the review for Blender, Ben Sisario felt that, "Vampire Weekend’s version of globalization is too tightly and smartly woven to be mere dilettantism, and at times Koenig is emphatic, even desperate, about escaping white-bred familiarity"[3] In a review for The Guardian, Alexis Petridis claimed that, "Behind the penny loafers and songs about commas, there's a bold band that can balance dexterous originality with an innate pop sensibility.

"[21] Writing for NME, Sam Richards commented that, "A mischievous pop sensibility ensures all these little experiments come off as refreshing quirks rather than heinous transgressions.