Album: Contra
Sounds Like: Ra Ra Riot, Paul Simon's Graceland, The Very Best
Sub-Sub Genre: Indie Prep-rock
Essential Tracks: Cousins, Giving Up the Gun
DJ Responsible Says: Even with the substantial critical hype and the (unsurprising) massive populist backlash--or at least bickering--my first reaction to Contra tended not to be love nor hate, but an unqualified 'wtf?'. Was this really what they had spent all their time and money doing? Was this really the album, the Ivy League hipster so-uncool-it's-cool-again album that went number one in the country? Who sits down and writes "In December drinking horchata/I'd look psychotic in a balaclava" and feels that it's somehow a reasonable way to start an album (whether ironic or not)?
For however unenjoyable Contra can be at times ("Horchata," the auto-tuned "California English"), you can't label Vampire Weekend sell outs. In fact, there's an odd dichotomy to this release: their sudden and (for me) inexplicable popularity butt up against the downright incomprehensible oddity that is the actual listening experience. Did people know what they were getting into? Or were they just drawn in by the beautiful bemused blond?
There is at least half an album to love here: "Giving Up the Gun" is fairly spectacular, perhaps simply for its relative normalcy and earnestness. "White Sky" is obnoxiously buoyant and contagious, but somehow doesn't go too far. And "Taxi Cab" is a stunning, downbeat mid-album showcase for their impressive musical craft. A little taste of realness goes a long way, especially when it's hard to find.
DJ Responsible Says: Even with the substantial critical hype and the (unsurprising) massive populist backlash--or at least bickering--my first reaction to Contra tended not to be love nor hate, but an unqualified 'wtf?'. Was this really what they had spent all their time and money doing? Was this really the album, the Ivy League hipster so-uncool-it's-cool-again album that went number one in the country? Who sits down and writes "In December drinking horchata/I'd look psychotic in a balaclava" and feels that it's somehow a reasonable way to start an album (whether ironic or not)?
For however unenjoyable Contra can be at times ("Horchata," the auto-tuned "California English"), you can't label Vampire Weekend sell outs. In fact, there's an odd dichotomy to this release: their sudden and (for me) inexplicable popularity butt up against the downright incomprehensible oddity that is the actual listening experience. Did people know what they were getting into? Or were they just drawn in by the beautiful bemused blond?
There is at least half an album to love here: "Giving Up the Gun" is fairly spectacular, perhaps simply for its relative normalcy and earnestness. "White Sky" is obnoxiously buoyant and contagious, but somehow doesn't go too far. And "Taxi Cab" is a stunning, downbeat mid-album showcase for their impressive musical craft. A little taste of realness goes a long way, especially when it's hard to find.
DJ Sub Par Says: I consume music the way Michael Phelps takes in calories. I hardly pause to breathe. A month belated review of one of the most hyped bands in the last few gives me time for something rare, a chance to savor. Above all, VW have a distinct sound, joyous and upbeat. Perhaps it is derivative, schticky and might not hold up over time. But for now I'd wager that anyone can cull ten tracks from their last two albums and have themselves a nice driving CD. What more do you really want from a band?
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