Vampire Weekend debuts new album
Contra means opposition, but there are no hints at hostility or negativity on Vampire Weekend’s latest release.
Two years ago, New York City’s Vampire Weekend debuted its selfdescribed “Upper West Side Soweto” sound via its first full length LP, Vampire Weekend. The name of the New York quartet comes from a film created by lead singer/guitarist Ezra Koenig during his college days. Higher education life, including the days and times (romantic and academic) of preparatory students, were a large theme in the band’s debut album. Now it’s 2010 and the band has already received some of the biggest Internet buzz a band can receive. The band’s new album, Contra, which was released Jan. 12 via XL Recordings, finds the boys in strong standing of their creativity in songwriting and unique rock style.
Vampire Weekend clinched the number one spot on the Billboard 200 chart just a week after the release of the 10-track Contra. According to Billboard, “The set is only the 12th independently distributed album to top the Billboard 200 chart since Sound- Scan began powering the list in May of 1991.” What is most remarkable is that the band has not crossed over or added any immense changes to their sound or attitude. The band members have built on the foundation they created with their self-titled debut in 2008. The band is finding its way into the mainstream with help from movie soundtracks, commercials, and music videos, which are helpful bumps to any band today.
Contra is a mighty album from beginning to end. The journey begins with “Horchata,” which became available as a free download from Web blog Stereogum on Oct. 5, 2009. The title of “Horchata” claims to be about a Spanish alcoholic delicacy. It quickly breaks into a song of resistance to the cold, reminiscent of seasons and feelings past. The drums and strings carry the tune from start to finish.
The second track, “Cousins” is the most energetic tune on the record. It is propelled by pricking guitar chords and steady drumbeats. Koenig loosens up and acts out a tad, as the song provides sing-a-longs and opportunities for busting out into chanting and dancing.
If there is a sleeper on the album, sure to be awoken and praised when hibernation has ended, it’s “Taxi Cab.” Lyrically, it is the most poetic on the record. “You’re not a victim/ But neither am I / Nostalgic for garbage / Desperate for time.” The song is about two people’s being together, applying themselves to the most mundane of tasks, like taking taxi cabs or shopping for groceries. It’s the joy of the simple life, yet not so simple when you’re with someone of special interest.
A personal favorite and for those who are nostalgic for punk rock’s iconic figurehead, is “Diplomat’s Son,” a mere six-minute ode to boarding school scandals and Clash front man Joe Strummer. The song does not acquire the stereotypical three chord guitar riffs and unifying, anti-oppression punk themes; it simply praises a man who saw the world from his own eyes in the 1970s and wrote stories that rallied people (later to be labeled punks). The song hits its climax when Koenig takes Strummer’s place and recalls a typical teenage night for the late Strummer: “That night I smoked a joint / my best friend we found ourselves in bed / when I woke up he was gone.” Strummer was a diplomat’s son and the Clash hit their biggest popularity in ’81. The song captures a shining moment for not only Strummer’s legacy, but for Vampire Weekend’s ability to pay homage to influence.
A specific track on Contra has the potential to cross over into a dancehall remix that would surely add a new dimension to an already danceable song. The song is “Giving Up Vampire Weekend debuts new album by Mike Popadines Staff Writer The Gun,” which may be the most admirable track to your tween sister who thinks this band is a Twilight knock-off, simply because of its irresistible pop dance beat.
The album is not flawless. It finds itself in a misstep on the fourth track, “California English.” The decision to add an auto-tune to the track was one the band members deliberated over for quite some time, eventually giving in to the experimental vocal form that has been able to make successful careers out of artists like T-Pain. But the risk may not have done much to propel the band in a bold new direction; it only provides vocals to a track that gets lost in the middle of a breezy flow.
Other standouts on the record come in the form of a subtle, epiphany/realization of a significant other on “I Think Ur A Contra.” Another is “Holiday,” a track begging to be in a video montage on an ABC Family teen drama about spring break; it offers radio single potential and an undeniable theme for a TV episode. “White Sky” is a song the band has introduced to concert-goers well before Contra’s release.
Contra is the band sitting pretty on the foundation of its art, allowing indie and mainstream audiences alike to control fate. It’s a great attribute for a confident band in an age of file sharing, bash blogs, and the abandoned wasteland of video-less Music Television. Let’s face it: The odds of success are against any modern rock band, whether you are on a major label or unsigned. Contra is at its purest, opposition. It is most present on “Run,” which matches two lovers in opposition to modern day relationship norms and the desire to escape. It is a sophomore record that takes dormant influences and adds a modern uniqueness, via its orchestral and musical arrangements from track to track. Vampire Weekend can rely on fate in its audience’s eyes, but the band member’s laid-back and breezy style leads this writer to believe that even if they’re not in complete control of their fame or lack thereof, they’re enjoying the ride anyway.
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