Album Review - Vampire Weekend 'Contra'

I love Contra.  Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, b, a, start...you know what I'm talking about!  There's not a greater feeling in the world than taking out a huge alien egg pod with the spread gun...Oh, this isn't the place where we talk about Nintendo games from the 80's?  This is the forum for discussion on today's best Paul Simon clone?  My bad.  We can do that too!

I have to admit, the release of Vampire Weekend's new album snuck up on me.  I was still reeling from my enormous undertaking from the end year...writing capsules for those 100 albums nearly killed me.  And the fallout from the peanut gallery...'How could such and such be 3 albums ahead of my favorite album!  Your entire list is compromised!'  Perhaps the most vocal criticism of my Top-100 list was leveled at the placement of Vampire Weekend's first album, which I think I put at #22, conveniently in front of the trifecta of Ryan Adams releases from 2005.  You'd have think I dropped an atomic bomb on Ryan Adams's entire legacy.  Suddenly, this ranking defined my musical tastes in a way that I was not prepared for.  I just dig that Vampire Weekend album...a lot.  It's catchy, has no serious flaws, and reminds me of my childhood safaris in Africa.

So, with trepidation, I listened to this new Vampire Weekend release, worried that I'd have some kind of internal backlash against liking it, since so much of my musical existence suddenly hinged on whether or not it was good.  This, on the backs of low expectations, in general, had me worried that I'd find this album as attractive as a double shot of leprosy and AIDS.  Even before my Top-100 list, I'd have given them 50/50 odds of spitting out total crap for their follow up...I mean, there were many reasons to expect them to fail (or, at least be lackluster).  For instance:

1. The hype factor - My god, the hype!  We all remember 2007, when the 'blue CD-R' floated around with a bunch of tracks from these guys, and everyone 'in the know' hopped directly on the bandwagon.  This was followed by wide release, and a continued 'ZOMG, these guys are awesome' rampage, that included a very high profile small venue tour, and good press from basically every media outlet in existence.  It looked like one of those PR masterpieces, where everything falls together, just like the marketing department drew it up.  Music isn't made for PR, though, so wouldn't two years of getting their dicks sucked by EVERYONE go to their heads, resulting in an abortion of a sophomore release?  Isn't our society built around building people up as high as we can, only to tear them down the second they show themselves to be less than perfect?

2. The douche factor - I bought the new LP, and I half expected it to come with a Ezra Koenig limited edition J Crew sweater vest, a thesaurus, and a coupon for 50% off your next visit to Starbucks.  These guys put the 'indie hipster douchebag' in Indie Hipster Douchebag.  Elitist, pretentious, and excruciatingly trendy.  I sometimes feel like Starbucks threw up on me when I get through listening to them. 

3. The copycat factor - Everybody and your Mom is now putting out syncopated African styled pop beats.  The market is flush with Peter Gabriel retro-love.  14 year olds everywhere are getting into Paul Simon's 'Graceland', instead of Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd.  This equals backlash, backlash, backlash.  Especially amongst the trendiest of the Indie Hipster Douchebags, who can't afford to buy this year's sweatervests, because they are spending all their money on Animal Collective remixes.

Vampire Weekend, backs against the wall, did the unexpected, however.  They went out and made the 'Eff You' album of the year, revisiting everything they did right on their debut...but reinventing themselves in the process.  They have essentially taken what they do best, and put it right back out there.  I'd call this album 'triumphant', but since they have egos the size of the moon, already, I'd rather go with 'they met their own expectations'.  The pretentiousness?  It's still steeped in here, but it's not quite as Oxford Comma-ish.  The lead track, for example, probably raised the Google ranking of the obscure beverage Horchata well beyond it's cousins Komboucha and Kefir.  Luckily, that shit is catchy, or I'd curse them for that.  If Starbucks is listening, I'd get that crap on your menu ASAP.

Overall, though, I'm impressed with the maturation of the lyrical content.  It doesn't feel like a bunch of poetry some Lib Arts major scribbled on the back of his retro Trapper Keeper, this go-round.  Couple that with stronger production values, and more intricate musical composition, and you can see why I'm high on this thing.  Take the first single, 'Cousins', which is a complex, odd rhythm (ska?  Cali-surf rock?  Where my Africa at, Ezra!?!?), and non-sensical (so it can't piss you off with pretentiousness!) lyrics...I think it's the highlight of the album. 

So, is it as good as their first album?  It's catchy as hell...Horchata, White Sky, Diplomat's Son, Cousins...all these could have found a home on that first album's lineup.  But I don't find it quite as accessible.  This could be due to the fact that I'm a virgin listener to this new one...I've got maybe 5 spins on it.  That first album...hell, it's like the back of my hand, at this point.  Familiarity will determine this one's legacy, but by the Out of the Box litmus test, this release far exceeds my expectations. 

Score: 9.1 Sweater Vests