We had the pleasure of sitting down with the new Vampire Weekend album
Contra this morning. And it's a pleasantly different surprise.
While the band's debut was fun, it never particularly resonated with us. Too "light" perhaps? That feeling remained the same even when seeing 30,000 people singing 'Who gives a fuck about an Oxford Comma?' at Splendour in the Grass. Surprising yes, but revealing the seeds for longevity...not really.
That might change with Contra. On first listen, there's an added depth to proceedings, and it's certainly more electronic. We're talking 808 handclaps, bubbling synths and gated reverb on the snare. Hell there's even a Madonna-esque, stadium pumper in the excellent, sure to be dancefloor pleaser 'Giving Up The Gun'. But despite those touchstones it's - importantly - never ELECTRO (and there's the gorgeous, etheral acoustic-tinged song 'I Think Ur A Contra' to close); there's always odd, tinkering production choices, unusual arrangements and those playful lyrics from Ezra Koenig to keep things rooted to the Vampire Weekend name.
'Cousins' is easily the punkiest track and one of the few that stay reasonably close to the Vampire Weekend legacy. So too the fun video. See: