In a December 3 review of “Cousins,” the first of two somewhat mediocre singles from Vampire Weekend’s new album, we were not impressed: “It doesn’t sound like Contra will expand [the band’s] preppy East Coast sensibilities too much.” This thinking seemed logical at the time. After all, everyone was kind of sick of the Vampire Weekend guys, with their boat shoes and Ivy League schools (okay, that’s a little hypocritical). But, as it turned out, we were completely off. “Cousins” is the worst song on an otherwise lush, mind-expanding album that verges on excellence, an album that distinguishes itself from the band’s debut with ease. Sure, singer Ezra Koenig’s word choice still sounds slightly affected (he rhymes “horchata” with “balaclava”), but the band has, against all odds, created a sophomore album that sounds less contrived than its predecessor. Koenig’s lyrics are drenched with an endearing sense of honesty and quirkiness; you may have no idea what he’s talking about, but you believe him. This honesty pervades most completely on the off-kilter love song “I Think Ur a Contra,” which takes Koenig’s vague socio-political commentary to a weirder level. Many of the best tracks (“Run,” “Giving Up The Gun,” “Diplomat’s Son”) are powered by an infusion of Animal Collective-like blips and pounding rhythms reminiscent of the Talking Heads. With Contra, the band replaces the sing-a-long accessibility of their debut with random spurts of feel-good funk, a trade-off that saves the album from the stale musical notions its early singles suggested.
4 Stars Vampire Weekend Contra
