Review: Vampire Weekend's Contra

Vampire Weekend

New York indie rockers, Vampire Weekend

By Lukas Clark-Memler

Can Vampire Weekend succeed where most bands fail? The answer lies in the thirty six minutes following one of the most blogged-about, hyped up, and successful debuts of the 21st century.

The modern day rock star job description states that one must look, sound, and act like ridiculous, pretentious caricatures of themselves, at all times. Some have a deep, rudimentary understanding of this way of life, succumbing to tabloid wishes by refusing to drive unless thoroughly intoxicated or being in possession of Class A narcotics. Others were born so ludicrous and arrogant that they had to become widely revered to avoid imploding into a blaze of impotent self-hatred.

Enter Vampire Weekend: a New York quartet who completely contradict the aforementioned rock star ideals of addiction, self-absorption and lunacy. Instead of fast cars and cocaine, the members of Vampire Weekend commute on bicycles and indulge in gourmet French cuisine. Instead of diamond-encrusted jewelry, they prefer loafers and pastel sweaters. And instead of songs about drugs and promiscuous sex, Vampire Weekend sings about punctuation, classical architecture, and higher education. Yet their debut record has reached gold status, their photo has adorned numerous international music magazines, and the band has performed at some of the most prestigious locations in the world. So without a doubt, the boys of Vampire Weekend are as much rock stars as any cocaine snorting, fast-car driving, attention seeking deadbeat.

Ask any band and they will tell you that their sophomore effort is always steeped in skepticism and incredulity. It seems to be an unspeakable curse that the second album should be a disappointment; a mere a hurdle to get to record number three and beyond. A few daring artists have attempted to leap from debut to third album, but unfortunately they realized a second album is inevitable; avoiding it is about as easy as unbending a corkscrew via telekinesis. Though the John Butler Trio ingeniously found a way of avoiding the second album debacle – by entitling their sophomore release Three – the album went platinum.

Now Vampire Weekend’s Contra not only suffers from the second album syndrome, but also has to deal with being a follow up to one of the most blogged-about, hyped up, and successful musical debuts of the 21st century. After such an incredible first album, the expectation surrounding Vampire Weekend’s second release was suffocating – the public was expecting something great and if Vampire Weekend did not deliver, they faced industry pariahdom. Most other bands would have been derailed by the hype accompanying their eponymous debut, with the sheer weight of expectation and pressure heaped onto their second album. But it’s quite clear by now that Vampire Weekend is not most other bands: they play by their own set of rules. If anyone can overcome the age-old curse of the sophomore slump, it’s Ezra Koenig and his band of educated over-achievers.

Contra is a more mature, more diverse, and simply more substantial (despite clocking in at 36 minutes) album that shows an emotional depth not present on the band’s debut. The opening run of songs is characterized by a soft and wide-eyed melodic gracefulness. “Horchata” harnesses a gentle calypso beat to evoke a nostalgic reverie. Front man and lyricist Ezra Koenig rhymes horchata (Mexican rice water) with balaclava (ski mask), Aranciata (Pellegrino and orange juice), and then Masada (Jewish fortress). “White Sky” is a multi-textured Afro-pop joy – a stirring homage to the Manhattan skyline – surpassing any other musical intricacies found on their debut. Yet all albums have their low points and on Contra it’s tracks three and four. “Holiday,” a rather mainstream ska-pop workout attempts to re-capture the light-hearted vigor of numbers such as “M79” and “A-Punk,” but without the customary élan. Not to mention “California English,” the band’s ironic approach to auto-tune, ends up being a sonic farce. But on the whole Contra delivers. It will surely please Vampire Weekend fans, but probably won’t turn naysayers into believers.

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