Maroon Weekly

Vampire Weekend made a splash with their self-titled debut when it was released in 2008, and now the band is back with their latest album, Contra.

The simple picture of a girl on the cover, beneath the word Vampire, may look odd but the band’s name simply does not match their sound. The beautiful blonde in her bright yellow Polo shirt sets the tone for the music within perfectly.

Contra is a weird and entertaining record with a yuppie sensibility, full of falsetto vocal styling, upbeat rhythms, and an eclectic array of instruments, produced flawlessly into a clean collection of songs.

The title of the album plays on the Clash’s Sandinista, the Contras of Nicaragua being the right wing opponents to the socialists. It fits with the capitalist feel of the band, and the above mentioned cover art. While some may criticize them for these elements, Vampire Weekend embraces their upper class awareness and shows off with smart music.

The opening track, “Horchata,” lets the listener know what to expect from the beginning. The song gets the production off to a decent start, showcasing Ezra Koenig’s light voice in all its airy splendor. The lead singer is accompanied by keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij and his interesting arrangement of marimbas and shekeres.

Sound strange? It is, and it gets stranger. The diversity of the music styles from which Vampire Weekend borrows makes the album nigh impossible to pin down. With hints of Africa, techno-esque beats, 80s synthesizers, classic rock flavors, signs of hip-hop and reggae, and even an appearance by our old friend, Auto-Tune, Contra wraps it all together in a way that works, at least for a while.

The early tracks are golden. When the opener finishes, “White Sky” rolls around, and the band, still upbeat and with Koenig yelping wildly, seems to dance around Manhattan and deliver a catchy tune while they do. After the frantic and Auto-Tune laced “California English,” the group slows down a little on “Taxi Cab,” which ties with the previous “White Sky” for the best track on the album.

Yet the sound almost wears by the time “Cousins” comes up, and that is where the most glaring deficiency about the work begins to show. All of the tracks, despite their vast variety of different influences and styles, simply begin to sound the same. “Giving Up The Gun” is the worst offender, and where the early songs clock in around two minutes, the later ones drag on and on.

The lackluster closing does not detract from the intriguing start, and the first half alone is worth the $10 price tag. The work as a whole is still engaging, and Vampire Weekend’s unique personality comes through beautifully.

By singing about Cape Cod and college campuses on their debut, and following it up with Contra, Vampire Weekend set themselves up to be ridiculed easily as out of touch, trust fund kids. Despite flirting with that line, the band never comes off as pretentious. They are unapologetically hip and boldly energetic. They are not trying to be anything but what they are.

So, yes they are rich. They are educated. They are young. They are white. But they sing catchy music, and they do it well.

3 of 5 Stars.