ComfortComes

Review: Vampire Weekend – Contra

Vampire Weekend, the debut from everyone’s favourite ivy leaguers-cum-indie rockers, was kind of a big deal. It spawned several hit songs, topped end-of-year album charts and impressed critics by drawing on fairly unconventional influences. The biggest factor in the band’s initial success however was its ability to bridge the tricky canyon bridging indie and pop. Instead of retaining too many of the quirks that make otherwise perfect pop inaccessible to mainstream audiences (Of Montreal) or alienating the hipsters with watered down lyrics and production (Death Cab’s Plans), the band landed squarely in the middle, finding their way onto the ipods of both groups. It probably helped that their distinction as Columbia grads granted them both popular legitimacy as well as an air of snobbery, so more devoted listeners could pick up on the album’s nuanced intricacies. Whatever the key to Vampire Weekend’s modest crossover success, most agreed their debut would be a tough act to follow.

And with that we have “Contra,” Vampire Weekend’s first attempt at rekindling the magic of their debut. Opening track “Horchata”, with its slightly goofy steel drums and lazy summer vocals, initially suggests a potential repeat of past success. Debut single “Cousins” further proves the band still has its affinity for bright, condensed pop numbers. Its coolly danceable groove is generated by rhythm section Chris Tomson and Chris Baio while Ezra Koenig giddily strings his words along in cheery sing-song fashion. Less immediate but no less striking, “Run” is vintage VW, but has the added feature of elegant horns at the fore of the chorus. Arguably the album’s standout, its handsome sophistication dissolves into a pleading chorus lead by Koenig, whose slight crooning easily marks a highpoint on the album.

While the band hinted at a tropical atmosphere on tracks like “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” and “Mansard Roof” from the debut, “Contra” carries a consistently exotic feel. From the album’s opening steel drums and tribal rhythms on “Horchata” to the breezy bliss of laid back “I think Ur a Contra”, the album feels enhanced by a sense of warmth. No matter how much is going on musically, Koenig and the boys make sure it feels relaxed. The obvious example is the brief “Holiday,” which describes an island being invaded by AK-toting goons, but could pass for lazy Beatlesque pop. The same is true for “California English” which manages to combine the preppy with the peaceful, one-offs about private schools and skiing in the Alps with airy vocal harmonies.

Though the band is often compared (favourably or otherwise) to Paul Simon for their African influences, a more appropriate analogy might be to the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds. Just like the Beach Boys transitioned from pop with an exotic California flair to a lusher, accomplished sound, so to does Contra step forward into a more musically rich soundscape. But while Brian Wilson managed to build on his band’s older work both sonically and musically, the New Englanders are only able to do the former. In fact the band’s richer musical palate can’t help but draw attention to how Contra’s songs are less immediate and have to reach further for the infectious fun of the debut. And while it was probably inevitable that the band wouldn’t be able to fully step out of the shadow of Vampire Weekend, their initial offering can’t help but inform an album that takes a similar stab at indie pop perfection, even if they made some effort to escape its looming presence.

In sum, Contra is a sophomore album that gets nearly everything right. It departs from the debut without taking a radical shift in direction, and retains enough of its character without sounding derivative. The sound is broader, the instrumentation has been tweaked to keep them fresh on the hipster radar, and the best parts from the debut pop up often enough as a reminder just how fine this band is at crafting refined indie pop gems. And though Vampire Weekend have been disparaged as Paul Simon knock-offs, hype-infested pop fluff, and of course, throwaway fare both the Abercrombie and Urban Outfitters crowd, Contra still stands as a testament to a band very capable of quirky, contagious hooks and taught, focused songcraft. That, is something the haters will always fail to understand.

By Ryan Tolusso