Two years ago, Vampire Weekend burst onto the music scene in their sweaters, “bleeding madras,” and boat shoes to accompany the eccentricity of their self-titled debut album full of African tribal beats, string quartets, and catchy hooks.
Back then, the world wasn’t quite sure what to make of the four Columbia grads from New York City. After all, “A-Punk” was a cool pop song, but what about that harpsichord and those strings on “M79”?
In the subsequent years, the band has incorporated even more influences to their sound. The newly released “Contra” features experimentation with Auto-Tune, electronica, and even the sampling of other tracks. The band rarely falters in displaying their keen ability to slide in and out of styles between or even within tracks.
“Contra” opens with “Horchata,” the first single off the album. This track is undoubtedly a typical Vampire Weekend song, featuring obscure references, lines about pieces of clothing and pounding drums from Chris Tomson. This song has Ezra Koenig singing about horchata, a sweet cinnamon and rice drink popular in Spanish-speaking countries, while looking “psychotic in a balaclava.”
“Horchata” shares a safe hook for unsure listeners with the other subsequent tracks, “White Sky” and “Holiday.” The first real stylistic change comes in the fourth track, “California English,” where the band breaks out the Auto-Tune on Koenig’s voice. While purists would argue that this robs them of any credibility, the use of Auto-Tune actually enhances Koenig’s voice as it quickly jerks back and forth between notes.
The album slows down and exhibits some electronica aspects, especially with percussion, on the fifth track, “Taxi Cab.” Koenig sings slowly and quietly, reminiscing on a failed relationship. He closes the song with the somber lines, “In the shadow of your first attack / I was questioning and looking back / You were standing on another track / Like a real aristocrat,” suggesting both differences in views and attitudes that caused the relationship to fail.
This strong electronic influence has its source in the downtime between Vampire Weekend albums, when keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij formed Discovery, a synth-based project with Ra Ra Riot’s Wes Miles. Discovery’s influence is not lost on “Contra.” The synth line in “Taxi Cab” feels as if it could have been lifted straight off of Discovery’s “LP,” adding yet another new wrinkle for the versatile Vampire Weekend.
Vampire Weekend returns to expected form on “Run,” where Tomson’s drums and Koenig’s quick guitar chords push the song at an upbeat pace, with Batmanglij’s keyboard layering on top. The pace from “Run” explodes on the following track and second single, “Cousins.” Chris Baio’s bass pushes the band at a frenetic tempo while Koenig adds his quick, spastic vocals, Tomson goes crazy on drums, and Batmanglij lays down guitar solos with a Spanish feel. Having so many parts build one song seems risky, but even live, the band keeps the song tight and in sync.
The last three songs on “Contra” are the longest and most musically distinct.
“Giving Up The Gun” lives on the bass of Baio, while Tomson creates a danceable and addicting drumbeat.
“Diplomat’s Son” keeps in line with the sound of the whole album for the most part until the last 90 seconds of the song, where it turn into an offbeat synth breakdown that catches the listener by surprise and helps show Batmanglij’s Discovery chops.
Finally, “I Think Ur A Contra” diverges completely from expected Vampire Weekend style.
In fact, it’s not even a Vampire Weekend song anymore. It’s reminiscent of Dirty Projectors, the New York band that both Koenig and Batmanglij were associated with at one point. “I Think Ur A Contra” could have been slipped into the Dirty Projectors’ 2009 release “Bitte Orca,” and only the listeners with the best ears would know the difference. The instrumentation and vocal patterns, especially in the last minute, all mimic the typical Dirty Projectors song.
This is not negative for Vampire Weekend, as Dirty Projectors is one of the best bands to have broken into the mainstream consciousness recently, but an interesting move, as Vampire Weekend is more mainstream than Dirty Projectors may ever be. Regardless, “I Think Ur A Contra” is the third-best song on the album, behind “Giving Up The Gun” and “Cousins,” and in front of “Horchata.”
Overall, “Contra” is something new for Vampire Weekend and new for listeners in any genre. The preppy, eccentric New Yorkers have successfully created something that sounds different, but still keeps its own personality.
Daniel Gallen can be reached for comment at [email protected]