Contra
Vampire Weekend
Score:80
Reviewer: Alex De Petro
Label: XL (USA & UK), Remote Control (Australia)
Reviewed: Feb 2nd '10, Released:2010
Way back in 2008 Vampire Weekend attracted a lot of press, not just for the improbable marketability of a bunch of preppy Ivy-Leaguers trying to make African-flavoured pop music, but because so many people took offense to this. Where some saw them as champions of underappreciated musical styles, others saw them as reverse-Robin Hoods, taking from the poor and giving to the rich. Where some felt their music was fresh and well-spiced with exotic flavours, others felt that Vampire Weekend was little more than plagiarism. Battle lines were drawn, and Vampire Weekend became one of those bands you either love or hate. Honestly, like most white people, my exposure to African music extends no further than Graceland and the ‘George of the Jungle’ theme song, so Vampire Weekend’s music will never feel derivative or ‘old’. Their second album, Contra, picks up right where Vampire Weekend left off, offering listeners nothing really new in terms of style, but nothing less in terms of quality either.
For the surface simplicity of the music – hooks, both vocal and instrumental, coupled with awkwardly danceable beats and catchy choruses – Vampire Weekend seem to value complexity, and imbue their music with layer upon layer of sound. Ultimately Koenig is an uncomfortable indie-pop-hero second, and a vocalist first. His delivery never fails to engage, and is always varied and interesting, highlighting the eccentricity of his lyrics and the effortless beauty of the melodies. Album closer ‘I Think Ur A Contra’ may be the peak of his career thus far as a vocalist: it’s a slower tune, driven by slowly fading strings. The overall weakness of Vampire Weekend was that it had a tone of restraint. But where Vampire Weekend is restricted, Contra is expansive: from the rolling xylo-percussion introduction that leads into chamber-pop strings which are strangely at home in the broad plains of the savannah on ‘Horchata’ to Koenig’s faux-Paul Simon drawl on ‘White Sky’, everything here speaks of a broadening, both in musical freedom and instrumental awareness. Sure, it’s not as fresh hearing these juxtapositions and idiosyncrasies the second time around, but perhaps it’s best to view Contra as a companion album to Vampire Weekend rather than a direct sequel. It has the same themes, just in a slightly different light; the same characters, just doing different things. There’s no great step forwards but the music is good enough to stand by itself and get people dancing, singing and banging their thighs like bongo drums in time to the beat. And that’s what really matters.
