DOWNLOAD: Vampire Weekend Cover Rancid!

Vampire Weekend

Leave it to Vampire Weekend to transform a fierce ska-punk classic into the soundtrack for a dance party aboard a mega-yacht in St. Barts. Grab your boat shoes.

Last week, during a performance for the BBC's Radio 1 host Zane Low, the New York boys unveiled a cover of Rancid's "Ruby Soho," swapping the original's punk crunch and shouting vocals for tropical-sounding electric guitars, bouncing rhythms, and singer Ezra Koenig's Paul Simon-indebted croon.

The transformation is so drastic that until the chorus it's barely recognizable as a cover.

And it's a weird choice, right? Well, maybe not as weird as one would think. Despite appearances, the preppy Ivy Leaguers have one very important thing in common with the tattooed, brash Armstrong: they both seek musical influence in third world cultures.

With Rancid, Armstrong fuses Jamaican ska with SoCal skate punk, while VW's chart-topping new album, Contra, is a combo of snappy indie rock with African and West Indian grooves.

Koenig has even said that ska-punk groups like No Doubt and Sublime played a big part in influencing VW's sound.

Download Vampire Weekend's cover of "Ruby Soho," then listen to Rancid's original below for reference.

Like VW's version? Tell us in the comment section.