Album Review: "Contra" by Vampire Weekend

So, I went online to listen to Vampire Weekend's newest album, Contra. The first thing I noticed is that the tracks were listed in a format similar to the track listing for Radiohead's In Rainbows. While Vampire's Weekend isn't available for free download like Radiohead's was, you can stream it for free, which I am thankful because I am currently strapped for cash.

As I said before, I have been excited for this album because I wanted to see what was going to happen to Vampire Weekend's sound. The good news is that this album is not a re-hash of their eponymous debut. The better news is that it's still catchy. Vampire Weekend has released another album that's perfect for the summer, this time combining familiar strings and tropical guitars with electronics. There's plenty of fun melodies and rhythms to be had here. Contra is definitely an improvement over Vampire Weekend, providing more variation in the way of instrumentation supporting Ezra Koenig's vocals.

Highlights include the ska-tinged "Holiday" , the subdued "Taxi Cab", and the soulful "I Think Ur a Contra".

Vampire Thanksgiving Weekend

For last year or so I've been awaiting Vampire Weekend's next album, not because I'm in love with the band, but mostly because I've been extremely curious about what they're gonna do next. Would they stick with the same sound or try something new? Where do they go from there? Well I've recently received a hint of what's to come, thanks to a tip from Spin Magazine. Vampire Weekend will be following up their eponymous debut with Contra, which drops January 12th.

So far I've listened to the first two singles from the album, "Cousins" and "Horchata". Both songs maintain the light feel of previous Vampire Weekend songs as well as some familiar instrumentation. "Horchata" includes electronic sounds and percussion that sound occasionally as though they were borrowed from an N64 game (Ocarina of Time?). "Cousins" sounds more like Vampire Weekend's debut material except a little sillier. The song is energetic and incredibly catchy and is accompanied by an equally fun and infectious video. Check it out.