| Vampire Weekend--Contra |
| Written by Neel Patel |
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. The new Vampire Weekend has elicited some intense comments about their new album cover. But, as Neel Patel says, there's more than meets the eye Ezra Koeing, the lead singer and guitarist of Vampire Weekend, commented in a recent interview with MTV that he likens the cover for the new album, Contra, to a Rorschach test, in how it’s been able to elicit a varied range of emotional responses. In general, it’s a sentiment that seems to apply to the band itself; Vampire Weekend has as many proponents as it has detractors. Not very often will you find someone with a mild opinion about the band; it’s either love or hate, and there’s little room in between. But then that makes perfect sense for the new album. Aptly named Contra, it’s about conflict, both socially and culturally, and you can hear it in the music perfectly.For a crash introduction in Vampire Weekend, this is an indie-pop band comprised of four ivy-league educated white kids from New York making a sound mainly influenced by afro-pop and western classical music. Clearly it makes sense this album would debut at #1. But it’s easy to see why the band would strike up so much ire from people; the prospect of four white guys from Columbia University making world-music shouldn’t make sense. But when the music is this good, all prejudices are thrown out. Vampire Weekend essentially got bigger, louder, and put on some muscle since their 2008 self-titled debut. It’s an album bursting from the seams with so many different ideas and sounds that anyone who isn’t immediately put off will find music that is challenging and adventurous. The first single “Cousins” shows just how crazy the band has been willing to get; it’s a bustling rush of aggressive guitars and drums and bells that will flow right past if one isn’t listening carefully. Opener “Horchata” starts out soft before breaking into a nice beat, all the while their clean guitar sound seems absent (though never missed). If “Cousins” was the rough edge of Vampire Weekend to swallow, then “Diplomat’s Son” is the softer, yet equally as weird side of Contra, managing to sample “Hussel” by M.I.A. and take left turns every few minutes to make 6 minutes worth of tropical chamber pop. “White Sky” offers a cheery melody that’s hard to hate; “Holiday” is the closest the band gets to the simplicity of the debut, but is still bigger than any song on that album. “Giving Up The Gun” is the easiest song on the album to enjoy, where the band gives it’s own brand of synth-pop a try and ends up making its most danceable song yet. Closer “I Think Ur A Contra,” the softest and most sentimental track, puts Koeing’s voice at the forefront while being backed by strings and soft guitars. In general, Koeing’s voice is often used as another instrument (“White Sky” and “California English”), bending and winding unexpectedly, keeping listeners on their toes. Lyrically, the band still operates in the same high-literacy and big-rhymes style that was present in the debut, but the content this time around is, as the album’s title alludes to, more concerned with conflict. In “Horchata” Koeing sings about a struggle for coming to terms with social status: “But winter's cold is too much to handle / Pincher crabs that pinch at your sandals / Years go by and hearts start to harden…Those lips and teeth that asked how my day went / Are shouting up through cracks in the pavement.” “California English” presents a chaotic frenzy of cultures that come and go: “Blasted from a disconnected light switch / Through the condo that they’ll never finish / Bounced across a Saudi satellite dish / And through your brain to California English.” The soft “Taxi Cab” seems like a lament: “You're not a victim / But neither am I / Nostalgic for garbage / Desperate for time.” And finally, “I Think Ur A Contra” is personal: “You wanted good schools / And friends with pools / You're not a Contra / You wanted Rock' n' Roll / Complete control / Well, I don't know / Never pick sides / Never choose between two / But I just wanted you.” The album is riddled in discord and contradiction, but it’s a trait that makes the listener more engaged rather than put off. I’m not sure anyone expected Vampire Weekend to get so bold and break the boundaries of what everyone else thought their music was capable of. This is sophomore music at it’s finest. My reluctance towards giving it a perfect score, however, stems from the same problem I had with the debut: I cannot honestly see myself listening to this album four months from now as frequently as I’m doing now. Six months, or a year from now, this album is likely to fall back onto the shelf, next to the first one. Still, winter music rarely sounds so summery, and it’s best to soak it up while possible. 4/5 wooves |
