Horchata Good....

Non alcoholic (unless spiked with screech, moonshine, linseed oil or Herbert's Hallucinogenic Herbal Hooch), good for all ages. Made from rice, barley, almonds, water, sugar and rice depending where you have it. It's called Horchata.

Horchata is also the leadoff track off the forthcoming Vampire Weekend album Contra. And like Ollie North when it came to delivering answers before a Senate Committee, this 10-track album could have you dancing around just as much thanks to terribly tight, sinfully catchy but quirky pop. It seems to mix the best of XTC with Paul Simon's Graceland album with all of its intricate but delightful polyrhythms on a tune like California English or the light, breezy, groovy but orchestral-tinged Taxi Cab.

The album comes out on Jan. 12 but is currently available on the band's official site for streaming. A North American tour is on the horizon for the spring, with a few Canadian dates including Toronto in late March, even if it's at the Sound Academy, a venue still aspiring to create decent sound.

Well worth checking out and by far the best album I've heard thus far this year, with Zeus (think of a Canadian Wilco circa Summerteeth) coming in a close second.

Worth a listen....or two...or nineteen.