Contra

Contra

by Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend were thrusted into the limelight early in their career and had their debut album hailed as the best of 2008. Their self titled was certainly worthy of all the praise that it got, it was definitely very catchy and very upbeat and the songwriting was fantastic. However, as most bands get their naysayers once they've risen to the top, Vampire Weekend got the haters coming from the very beginning. Many didn't think that they were deserving of all the fame that they got from the album, most people immediately throwing the "hipster bullshit" label on them. Vampire Weekend certainly had a lot to prove with their second studio album, "Contra". The band had a chance to prove the haters wrong if they followed up their self titled debut with something bigger and better than the first album, which they definitely did with "Contra".

While the album is nowhere near as catchy as the debut, the album more than makes up for that in substance and individuality. The band meshes sounds from many different musical genres between the more electronic sounds that they've started using, the classic indie pop sound, orchestral sections, and the familiar African styled music from the first album. The album opens up with "Horchata", a calypso sounding song that echoes parts of the self-titled, much like the rest of the album, while still adding in new elements. "White Sky", the second track of the album, kicks in with a beat that at first reminded me of "One" from the first album, but immediately exceeds my expectations of the song. "White Sky" proves that the band can continue to add depth to their music without losing their catchy choruses. Ezra Koenig brings out that ever familiar falsetto in the song, making it one of the standouts of the album.

The album truly doesn't have a low point to it, all of the songs are very listenable and keep the listener waiting to see what the band is going to do next. Not to mention the lyrics on this album are far better than the last one. No longer do we have to hear about the love on the college campus, instead we get the quickly spat lyrics of "California English" that speaks on the nature of people and their need for commercialization in nearly everything around them. The albums first single, "Cousins", really sticks out as the strongest track on this album. The song perfectly encapsulates the "new" feel of Vampire Weekend, still catchy as hell but much deeper than your average indie-pop Ivy League band. The band has truly evolved in sound and style and I can only imagine where they hope to go from here with their next album, because the possibilities are truly endless.

Rating: 9/10

Standout Tracks: Cousins, Giving Up The Gun, California English, Taxi Cab