The 10 songs here don’t collectively match the near-perfection displayed on the band’s debut, but Contra is varied and vivacious enough to make each spin as revelatory as the first time you realized what the band was getting away with and how well it pulled off the feat.
Contra opener “Horchata” displays a caliber of pop songcraft and melodic intuition that gives The Shins’ James Mercer a run for his harmony, and the feathery lightness of lead singer Ezra Koenig’s voice allows him to indulge fluttering melodies that would sink under the weight of more overbearing pipes.
Contra works because of its juxtapositions-- of natural sounds to processed ones; of manners to tantrums; of party rhythms to deadpan poetry; of black music to white music.
Far more than a companion piece of leftover ideas, the album is light, musically savvy and, for the most part, pulls off a thick dose of shamelessly sunny pop across all of its 10 tracks.
Contra, like its predecessor, spills over with limber rhythms and percussive bounce, evoking sunny, "exotic" climes far from ice-cool Manhattan.
Contra shows Vampire Weekend have more depth and talent than detractors give them credit for and this will be the album-warm, poignant, absurdly catchy-to get you through the dreary winter months.
With Contra, Vampire Weekend make Auto-Tune and real live guitars, Mexican drinks, Jamaican riffs and Upper West Side strings belong together, and this exciting lack of boundaries offers more possibilities than anyone could have expected.
Contra may not propose much of a rebuttal to those who thumbed their nose up at the band’s past work, but it’s not difficult to see how it could strengthen their core audience while netting them some new fans at the same time. These aren’t songs that will define boundaries or alter music’s landscape as much as help refine and expand them.
There are some mis-steps – California English employs Auto-Tune about two years too late – but overall this is a fine follow-up to their successful debut.
Contra doesn’t contain as much pop smarts as their eponymous debut, but then that record was such an explosion of ideas and styles that this seems more considered by comparison.
“Who the hell is that?” This is the first question you ask when you see the album cover of ‘Contra’ for the first time. But “OH MY GOD, IT’S VAMPIRE WEEKEND” is what you say when you give it a second glance, especially if you’re a fan of their debut. And unsurprisingly, ‘Contra’ sounds as good as the debut, though there are notable differences worth mentioning.
For starters, genres such as indie rock and Afrobeat have taken a step ... read more
[discovering the 2010's review#3 -- entry #5]
Picture this, you won a travel prize and now you are going through a world tour in the next few weeks. In this tour you go through a bunch of interesting countries (culturally). You visit Japan, Jamaica, South Africa, UK, all of those countries. That trip is exactly what i feel like "Contra" is. A colorful trip in which you explore how our world sounds. And i'm all in for such a nice trip.
Vampire Weekend's sophomore studio album ... read more
Vampire Weekend take a more melodic and mellow vibe with their sophomore album with great effect, creating quite a warm, uplifting experience which seems to never get as mentioned as much as their debut or Modern Vampires in the City but in my opinion it still stands up their with them as a great indie pop record.
Track Review
Horchata (Download) 8.5/10.
White Sky 9/10
Holiday 8.5/10.
California English 7/10
Taxi Cab 7.5/10.
Run 8/10
Cousins 8.5/10.
Giving Up The Gun 9/10
Diplomat's Son ... read more
Alright Lark,
This was the first review I read of yours, and I agreed with your points for the most part, but I think you made the score way too low. A 46?!?!?!? Even your average for the song rankings is around 65! Now I understand that the song rankings aren't the sole factor in how people score an album, but I don't think the cohesiveness and structure are so bad that it deserves another 20 points off the song average. I'm still kinda confused on how you got to that number.
Overall, ... read more
1 | Horchata 3:26 | 84 |
2 | White Sky 2:58 | 86 |
3 | Holiday 2:18 | 84 |
4 | California English 2:30 | 71 |
5 | Taxi Cab 3:55 | 80 |
6 | Run 3:52 | 82 |
7 | Cousins 2:25 | 88 |
8 | Giving Up the Gun 4:46 | 87 |
9 | Diplomat's Son 6:01 | 85 |
10 | I Think Ur a Contra 4:29 | 80 |
#1 | / | Consequence of Sound |
#5 | / | Q Magazine |
#6 | / | Pitchfork |
#6 | / | Rolling Stone |
#7 | / | Stereogum |
#8 | / | Amazon |
#9 | / | A.V. Club |
#11 | / | Spin |
#11 | / | The Needle Drop |
#12 | / | Rhapsody SoundBoard |