Monday, 8 February 2010
Vampire Weekend- Contra
I hated Vampire Weekend's last album. They struck me as wanky, preppy, rich boys which got my back up from the get go. 'Oxford Comma' cut right through me with that ridiculous swoopy vocal thing he does. But on a sneaky listen a few months later I had to concede it's a pretty good album... 'A Punk' is energetic, shouty fun and 'Walcott' was a more than decent track as New York Indie goes...
Fast forward to Contra: Calypso infused pop (the term afro-pop has been bandied about a lot) teamed with ridiculous lyrics and a preppy girl in a Ralph Lauren shirt on the cover (apparently it's some chick from the 80s they feel 'matches their image'- need I say more?) .... but, contra (ha) to all reason, I really like it.
The lyrics sometimes seem obscure for the sake of it, 'In December drinking horchata, I'd look psychotic in a balaclava'- no one knows what the hell horchata is (admittedly I've had it in Spain because I'm a cultured biatch- it's delicious). But at the same time there is a sense of them really sticking to their guns on this album, not pandering to the hate mob (which formerly included me). What I think was lacking on the self-titled first album is a certain sense of humour towards it all. They are a bit ridiculous but they don't really give a shit.
'Diplomat's Son' is a fantastic song- the 'cha chada cha' loop in the background, the uplifting calypso beats and the pretty interesting lyrics... 'That night I smoked a joint with my best friend, we found ourselves in bed, when I woke up he was gone'- this all about a Diplomat's son (in 81). This song touches your happy place.
'I think Ur a contra' is beautiful when taken in the context of a love song- there's a hint of a political subtext in there, which is unclear (bizarrely, a 'contra' is a Nicaraguan counterrevolutionary guerrilla force).
Other highlights include:
'Giving Up the Gun'- a deep bass line accompanied by what sounds like a triangle-cum-xylophone.
'Cousins' is probably the most like the former album- the frantic energy is like a teenager having sex or something- fast, bewildering and... well it's a short song.
'Run' is also a great little song- about being stuck in a job and wanting to run away from it all with your girl and 'a powered radio'. Nice.
'California English' is like an afro-beat Animal Collective but has the potential to become annoying.
I like 'Horchata' despite the silly lyrics- it's initially the catchiest on the album.
Overall: 7/10
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