Friday, February 26, 2010
By Austin Siegemund-Broka
Editor-in-Chief
Listening to “Contra” is like being reacquainted with an old childhood friend. It is not the same person you played with on the jungle gym, but rather an intellectual, charming, mature adolescent who just happens to look like your playground buddy.
Rarely on a second album does a band sound as distinctly older as Vampire Weekend do on their Jan. 12 release, “Contra.”
The band’s sound has matured trememdously in all ways. Their scattered adolescent feel, once marked by quirky lyrics and manic, catchy riffs, has been replaced by careful consideration. The songs range from sweetly playful to darkly depressed, but they are all meticulously crafted
The result is sensitive and artistically impressive, although not quite as groundbreaking as their debut. “Contra” is, though, still a fantastic work of art in its own right: the band still manages to create a distinct sound, a playful yet wistful blend of symphonic instrumentals and singer Ezra Koenig’s fluttery vocals.
It’s absolutely worth buying or at least listening to, but it doesn’t hit listeners with the raw novelty of the band’s debut.
On that 2008 debut, “Vampire Weekend,” the New York quartet grabbed acclaim for its youthful, African-infused indie-pop.
The key ingredient in that album’s feel is impulsiveness. Lyrics are written in the present tense, riffing wildly on girl problems or random irritations (Koenig wrote the hit “Oxford Comma” about his anger at a Facebook group dedicate to the punctuation mark); songs are skittering, insanely catchy indie-pop bursts that vaguely recall the instrumental wildness of punk.
Naturally, the album is a hard act to follow. How do you produce a second album when you wrote the book on impulsive alternative pop? Answer: by repudiating that style completely.
From the first track of “Contra,” listeners can hear that Vampire Weekend thought hard about this one.
The instrumentals herald their maturity immediately, a gently playful blend of electronic beats, twinkling guitar lines and symphonic instrumentation.
Gone are the simple chirping guitar riffs and lo-fi African-style beats of their debut. Instead, the sound on “Contra” tracks such as “Horchata,” “Diplomat’s Son” and “Giving Up the Gun” is rich, soaring and complex. Many feature psychedelic keyboard bits and string arrangements.
Not a note seems out of place in the tracks’ careful compositions. Just as the debut’s reckless energy was a perfect fit for its spontaneity and offbeat subject matter, the complexity and diversity in these instrumentals perfectly evoke the songs’ introspective, emotionally complex commentaries.
The instrumentals even add to the lyrics through musical cues, sinister when the lyrics are dark and sweet when they are bright.
It is these lyrics, though, that offer Vampire Weekend’s clearest repudiation of their adolescent fire. No longer do they make glib, kooky commentaries on simple life situations, instead describing careful contemplation of lost love, relationship tensions and doubts about one’s future.
On tracks such as “Taxi Cab,” for instance, the lyrics are primarily directed toward the past, Koenig’s introspective study of his own emotions.
Koenig’s usual gentle, playful vocals remain, but the undertones are different. The delivery is smooth and lilting, with none of the yelps of “A-Punk” or “One (Blake’s Got a New Face)” on their debut. Between cutesy rhyme schemes and his high, sweet intonation, Koenig’s sound remains playful, but backed by swirling keyboards and steady electro beats, it takes on a wistful and resignedly sad edge.
This album is the manifesto of a new Vampire Weekend, a band that reacts to life not with wild indie-punk songs and whimsical lyrics, but with serious emotional contemplation and sensitively planned sonic structures.
A must-have for all alternative music aficionados, “Contra” is available on iTunes for $10 and is sold at most music retailers.
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