First of 2010

SteveK starts off the New Year with a Vampire Weekend

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Vampire Weekend: Contra

This album is a radical departure from Vampire Weekend’s previous effort.  It’s darker, angrier, almost violent sounding disc.

NO!  I’M KIDDING!

The Brit-poppy Reggae and Ska flavoured musical stew that is New York City musical quartet Vampire Weekend’s very sunny, very enjoyable and upbeat music is very much intact on their second outing, ‘Contra’.

‘Contra’ opens without much intro; Ezra Koenig starts putting out the lyrics right with the first note of “Horchata”, which was released as a downloadable single back in October.   The happy vibes continue across the other nine tracks on ‘Contra’, and the album manages to provide whimsy and joy without being saccharine, cloying or otherwise obnoxiously cheerful.

The tropical rhythms are juxtaposed against lyrics rife with cryptic references to personal experiences and obscurities, but if you sit back and listen without wracking your brains over hidden meanings, songs such as the infectious “Holiday” “Run” or “Cousins”, for example, become just utterly enjoyable.

Vampire Weekend have mastered the “Island Sound” on their second disc.  The music is more technically complex, but the band maintains the near-manic pacing necessary to the fusion of genres that make up their sound.  As widely received and praised as their self-titled debut was back in 2008, ‘Contra’ should finally win them the sort of acclaim they deserve.

Vampire Weekend

XL Recordings

Steve’s Rating: 8.5/10

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