Vampire Weekend: Contra
Vampire Weekend: Contra
Also In The News
|
By Darren Estwick. |  |
Monday, 11, Jan 2010 09:21
XL, out January 11th.
What's it all about?
It's just under two years since the self-titled debut offering from Vampire Weekend, which was - quite fairly, too - number one in the UK indie chart. It offered all kinds of fun, from the lilting rhythms of Oxford Comma to the utterly unforgettable A-Punk, which was - at least, on first or second listen - a universally-loved tune. And now the second album's available, showing the band's unique brand of rock. Can you smell a winner?
Who's it by?
Vampire Weekend are in their fourth year together and after two years of touring and creating a huge fanbase despite sales only making their album go Gold in the UK, they're in full swing. They're maturing, finding their groove fully and capitalising on hits that still continue to give years after being created.
As an example.
"In December, drinking horchata/I'd look psychotic in a balaclava/Winter's cold is too much to handle/Pincher crabs that pinch at your sandals/Whoooaaaaaaaaa.a" - Horchata
What the others say
"If [debut album] Vampire Weekend was Rushmore, Contra is their Royal Tenenbaums: brainy, confident and generally awesome." - Rolling Stone
"This latest offering ushers in an entirely new age for Vampire Weekend: one of wisdom, grace, subtlety and, for the first time, a really strong sense of identity. A thoroughly grown-up record, then." - BBC
So is it any good?
I used to hate Vampire Weekend. Truth is, it's hard to keep it up. After a year of dedication, I gave in. They're enjoyable and pretty damn original.
And to add to it, Contra, their latest addition to a line-up previously dominated by EPs, was well worth the wait. Despite its overplayed opening track, Horchata - which isn't awful, truth be told, just not great - the album seems to gather an amazing pace throughout, going from short-and-snappy songs to longer, more relaxed affairs.
Each track seems to incorporate a remarkable amount of influences, though the entire effort is perhaps best described as a mix of the eclectic stylings of Passion Pit with a bit of LCD Soundsystem and plenty of the Shins for good measure. In truth, it's unfair to class them as "like" anyone; they're too unique.
The likes of California English, Cousins and Holiday demonstrate them at the top of their game - perfect picks from an acoustic guitar, passionate yet bouncy vocals and any number of sounds and instruments layered over the top, making the core structure of songs very much Vampire Weekend, yet with the flexibility to incorporate elements of classical, reggae, pop and psychedelic rock.
It even gets introspective with songs like Taxi Cab, which is an altogether more relaxed affair. It shows off Ezra Koenig's impressive vocal range while also giving an almost baroque-esque undertone with harpsichords a-plenty.
Perhaps the greatest song of them all, however, is I Think Ur A Contra, save for the unnecessary text message-style naming. Truth is, it's an absolutely beautiful tune and the perfect way to finish an album. The tinkling piano interludes are perfect additions and the lyrics are possibly the most heartfelt in the entire release. I'd rather not spoil them, they're that good. Maybe a little cliched but it just. works. Bravo.
The one thing that's absolutely wonderful about Vampire Weekend, demonstrated in Contra more than their debut, is the sheer variety of songs. It's pretty flawless in this respect and it makes the album unavoidably enjoyable, even if just in part. There's no way it can really get below average as a result because one song alone will take you to your happy place and it'll be hard to get out.
As it stands, Horchata was a poor first single to make available, though it's been kerb-stomped by repetitive radio stations (I'm looking at you, 6Music) and is generally lacking that extra push. Cousins, on the other hand, is a fantastic single which will pick up any club dancefloor towards the end of the evening.
Either way, it's a solid offering from the band and one of the few CDs that's worth a material purchase as well as a download. It's not only one of those albums that makes it worth the money twice, but one which could be looked on favourably for a few years as a classic. Who knows?
9/10
Matt Gardner