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After two successful weekends at Coachella, an upcoming international summer tour and the highly anticipated release of their third album, Vampire Weekend has a lot to be happy about. But does “Modern Vampires of the City” live up to the already high expectations that were created with the releases of the band’s self-titled and “Contra?” After three years of waiting, “Modern Vampires of the City” unfortunately sounds safe and formulaic.

Vampire Weekend went in a new direction with its third album, and although the band fell short in creating a ground-breaking, toe-tapping summer record, “Modern Vampires of the City” still has a few gems that are worth checking out.

The album opens with “Obvious Bicycle,” a melodic and catchy track sure to rope you in. Pairing pulsating bass with vocal harmonies seems like it would sound awkward and unbecoming, but frontman Ezra Koenig and keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij successfully pull off the unconventional approach to the song.

Tracks three and four, and probably the most popular, are “Step” and “Diane Young,”  respectively, which were included in the band’s setlist at Coachella this past April. “Step” incorporates harpsichord sounds and quirky lines like “Stale conversation deserves but a bread knife,” making the track reminiscent of songs in Vampire Weekend’s past albums. Lyrically, these two songs outshine the rest of the album.

“Diane Young” continues the ever-familiar buoyant sound that Vampire Weekend is known for. But listen for the editing done to Ezra’s voice during the chorus. The combination of his natural vocals and some autotuning is a technique called “format shifting” and the effect definitely makes you squint your eyes and listen more closely. With help from drummer Chris Thomson and bassist Chris Baio, the fourth track is sure to get you dancing.

After “Diane Young,” however, the middle of the album gets sort of muddled. Tracks five through eight are unmoving and forgettable. “Don’t Lie,” “Hannah Hunt,” “Everlasting Arms” and “Finger Back” don’t add any dynamic elements to the album. These middle tracks leave the album feeling a bit hollow, and could easily be replaced.

But this is where “Ya Hey” saves the day. The bouncy bass line combined with Koenig’s boyish and inviting vocals makes this song a crowd pleaser. Not to mention that the “chipmunk” editing done to the chorus will be stuck in your head for days.

As a relatively young group, Vampire Weekend has created a strong following, even if  “Modern Vampires of the City” wasn’t as popular or pleasing as their past two releases. According to the MTV website, the third album “represents a brand-new Vampire Weekend, to be certain…it is a bold reinvention, and, in a lot of ways, a rediscovery, too.” The band certainly has the potential to mature and keep making music.