Vampire Weekend - Contra

What are friends for if not to every once in a while throw you an album that, as a music lover, you really need to hear. And nine times out of 10, the first thing you'll ask your buddy is, "What's it like?" Yeah, well good luck with this one. "It's like a cross between the African rhythms of Graceland, the ska beats of the Bosstones, 80's pop of the Cars, some Jimmy Cliff reggae and, oh yeah, there's quite a bit of classical in there too." Huh?! Well, that would actually be a pretty accurate description of the sophomore effort from Vampire Weekend, Contra. Released in January, Contra really is a cornucopia of musical styles all coming together in what ends up being a very seamless and subtle way.

Ezra Koenig (lead vocals, guitar), Rostam Batmanglij (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals), Chris Baio (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Chris Tomson (drums, percussion) first debuted their eclectic style in 2008 with their self-titled, self-produced album. After seeing some pretty wide acclaim (reaching 17 and 15 on the US and UK Billboard's 200 respectively and gaining them accolades as “The Year’s Best New Band” by Spin magazine in 2008), the foursome joined XL Recordings, which was already known for its work with the likes of the White Stripes and Radiohead. Expanding not only on their freshman success, but also on their wide variety of musical influences, VW spent the next two years reaching out and drawing back in to develop the 10-track Contra. And surprisingly enough, critics have not been turned off by the diverse style. In fact, the album debuted at number 1 on Billboard's 200.

Almost as if to say, "Here's everything we've got. Please to enjoy," the album's first track, "Horchata," throws everything but the kitchen sink at you. A fun, up-beat tune with lyrics that somehow manage to find a place for rhyming horchata, balaclava, aranciata and masada, the first 15 seconds start simple enough, but what follows is a coordinated mess of all the styles mentioned earlier. Alternating between the calm and chaotic, "Horchata" is about as bold an opener as one could imagine from a band trying to secure their place.

Not necessarily a breather, but definitely a step back from track one, "White Sky" could have been a hidden track on Paul Simon's Graceland. Koenig's vocals and Batmanglij's guitar backed by Tomson's drum work have you waiting for Ladysmith Black Mambazo to join in. Alas, they don't. Instead Koenig keeps the torch and takes on his own version of some interesting if not humorous backing vocals between verses. Switching gears almost entirely, "Holiday" is a more straight forward tune (in VW terms) absent of both the aforementioned African and classical undertones, and rather featuring a ska rhythm on the back beat throughout, save for a brief departure during the bridge. "Holiday" takes on a bouncy melody that becomes contrasted with the slightly dark lyrics as the song progresses.

Returning to the African beats, the most notable aspect of "California English" is the use of auto-tune on the vocals. Not in the Kanye or Britney way though. In fact, since Koenig has already demonstrated his ability to hit a note, in this case the auto-tune is used for its sound effect alone. And it does add a tasty element to the fast moving lyrics that dive into the contradictions that seem so prevalent in many aspects of today’s society.

"Taxi Cab" provides what, in my humble opinion, is the most interesting track of the album for its ability to subtlety incorporate all of these numerous styles into one soft medley. The walking tempo lead by the delayed drums, staccato synth bass and low strings set the foundation for the vocals, but then underneath comes the piano all working seamlessly together with one not overpowering the other, so that even when the piano lead takes over between verses, it doesn’t jump out at you but rather gives the impression of something that was there all along. Even more to this point, at around the half-way mark, the tune almost becomes a full-fledged classical piece with the bass and vocals giving way to the piano and strings and even adding a harpsichord, which then drop off and allow the song to return to its origins.

"Run" hints on the 80's pop and punk sides of VW without diving into them head first, maintaining the inability to pigeon-hole even just one of the tracks. While the drums and bass say punk and the keys say 80's pop, Koenig prevents a full-fledged attack with his lilting melody. "Cousins" represents the first of two radio singles on the album, and introduces yet another influence with Koenig's Dick Dale-style lead guitar, but still keeps with the punk undertones of its preceding track. "Giving up the Gun," the second of the singles, follows and, as if dividing the album into three separate parts, keeps with punk base but again forbids you from pinning just a single label on it.

The dub keys of "Diplomat's Sun" send the album to a mellower tone as it nears its end. And while many times the last track of an album can be a throw-away, "I Think UR a Contra" seems like the perfect end to this auditory fiesta. Almost like credits music at the end of a great film, the ultimate track to Contra sends the listener on their way in peace, but with a message to ponder as they go.

Admittedly upon first listen, Contra almost seems like too much to handle. Who are these guys? What the heck are they trying to accomplish by cramming so much into each track? But just one listen later and you can hear that they really don't have any hidden agenda. On the contrary, it all seems quite natural. And after realizing this, it can even become a fun game to pull each song apart to see what it's made of. Since their debut effort is a little less eclectic, it's almost surprising that Contra is the one garnering more accolades, but this serves as a testament to the duality this album accomplishes. By gathering such a diverse group of styles it widens the appeal base, while at the same time giving even the most hardened music fan a brain teaser to ponder.

Rating

Overall: 4/5

Originality: 5/5

Production: 3/5

Listenability: 4/5

Available on Itunes and Amazon.

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