Vampire Weekend: Contra

By Mike Altman

If you aren’t wearing a v-neck, own a fixed gear bike or are from a previously rural area and are now located in an urban area…please stop reading.

There is one word that you will be hearing a great deal in the next few weeks that hasn’t come up since the Cold War: Contra. Vampire Weekend recently released their anticipated second album on January 12th and they have literally sucked in thousands of listeners. Pun intended, this shit is really good.

This is the first album of the band to hit number one on the Billboard Top 200, a rare event for many independent artists.

The eclectic nature of Vampire Weekend surfaces everywhere. Starting off with “Horchata,” the band sticks straight to the roots. Haters, start hating here. “In December, drinking horchata / I’d look psychotic in a balaclava”…only Vampire Weekend. This song encompasses a quite airy feel and with a fireworks show of diverse percussion, instruments native to southern countries of Africa such as the kalimba and mbira are cleverly used on the track. The album glides along with “White Sky,” a great electric poppy song with that shines bright as the leader singer yelps through a rainbow of a chorus.

All over this album one can see contrast between the light and heavy guitar along with newer synth beats and hip-hop, reggae and electro accents. This can especially be seen in the song “Diplomat’s Son,” featuring the M.I.A. track “Hussel.” (M.I.A., coincidentally is another artist who samples The Clash, see below.) The inner frat bro in all of us that rocks to this album’s beats, which are heavily influenced by the 2009 LP release from Discovery, a group which features Vampire Weekend’s keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij.

Later on in the album we feel a hyped up rock-steady, especially in “Run.” “Cousins” is a roller coaster in New Mexico. Fast, thrashy and fun. Check out the video as well.

Finally I was extremely impressed with the final track “I Think UR a Contra.” In this song we see a wonderful vocal performance, a forceful jazzy piano line and dissonant strings. This track is just pretty as shit and different. Vampire Weekend’s album ends leaving you with the beats of hand drums and craving more.

What is super interesting about this album is it’s direct juxtaposition and has some influence from The Clash’s “Sandinista” (For those who do not know, The Clash were a classic British punk band based in the 70’s and 80s prominently, if this does not ring a bell…please stop reading.) The album does not have the same political connotations and disco-like fuel as “Sandinista.” Yet, Koenig’s lines aren’t solely about being a prep and getting out of Cape Cod anymore. His songs playfully use colorful lyrics and riffs to comment the triviality of image and hypocrisy of class. Oh yeah, themes about moving and love are there too…I mean, this is supposed to be some sort of rock album, right? Rock is right, as the workings and style of Elvis Costello, another British artist can be seen in Ezra Koenig’s lyrics and style especially in “Cousins.”

This album is a quickie and ends before you even realize it. Contra takes a few listens to grasp, because it is more complicated than you initially think. Vampire Weekend is not just colorful, but soulful and interesting. Yet they still encompass that signature Beach Boys-esque sound, simple and so freaking catchy you can’t help but smile. Honestly, if this doesn’t put a sprout in your step, you might just want to stick with the Postal Service…I can’t believe you are still reading.

Now, seriously, stop reading this review and go listen to Contra.

Recommended Tracks: “Cousins” (for all the A-Punk fans), “White Sky,” “Holiday,” and “I Think UR a Contra” (Into Sigur Ros? This one.)