The New Music

Vampire Weekend Contra [XL]

Can we blame people for hating on Vampire Weekend? They sing about vacationing in Cape Cod, pillage the shuffling Afro-pop sounds of Soweto (they describe themselves “Upper West Side Soweto”), boast Ivy League educations and dress as though they’re the faces of the latest Ralph Lauren campaign – or possibly a new upscale shop called Urbane Outfitters. Yes, they certainly don’t hide their soft knock life.

But who cares? Behind the indie blogger-fuelled hype machine are a bunch of wide-eyed NYC preppies that craft singular pop songs brimming with worldly dexterity. Had they been born and bred from any other scene than the cantankerous indie rock milieu, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. And so it must be said that their sophomore effort is far from a slump, and nothing short of brilliant.

Following up Vampire Weekend seemed like a difficult task. Nearly 500,000 copies sold meant it was more than Pitchfork’s readership listening. But despite lacking the immediacy of their debut, Contra (yes, apparently named after the NES game that gave us “up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, B, A, start”) reveals itself as easy, breezy and yes, even beautiful almost instantly. “Horchata” basks in the sun, as frontman Ezra Koenig sips on the titular organic beverage and waxes about multiculturalism, while Rostam Batmanglij generates some pulsating electronic vibes that mingle with tropical percussion and strings. Yep, they go for broke right off the top, but it only gets better.

As producer, Batmanglij appears to be a real difference maker on Contra. His side-project Discovery was an outlet for him to indulge in his electronic musings, and it’s really rubbed off on Vampire Weekend. “White Sky,” for instance, brings in undulating synths to match Koenig’s vocal elevations, “Run” evokes The Very Best’s Malawian shuffle, and “Diplomat’s Son” brings some of that Baile funk as if Diplo was behind the boards, which he actually is, kinda – the band sample M.I.A.’s “Hussel,” the producer of which was Dip.

Vampire Weekend’s growth doesn’t end with Batmanglij’s effect, however. There is plenty of accordance between the two albums, but Contra seems like the drop-off point for those Graceland associations. “Giving Up The Gun” may keep that flowing studio warmth Paul Simon virtually invented, but VW progress from being influenced into a signature sound, ensuring a Hallmark-type moment in any teen drama has its go-to track.

And it’s not all just tunes fit for a cruise liner. “California English” tackles grammar and language in a feistier manner than “Oxford Comma,” with Koenig losing his breath spitting through the lyrics. Single “Cousins,” meanwhile, gets downright dirty, accelerating “A-Punk” to a rockabilly velocity with a dire urgency to finish under the two and a half minute mark – which they do.

They may leave the indie kids that discovered them behind with this album but that’s entirely up to the listener. Contra is the sort of sophisticated, career-shaping record destined to elevate the band to new heights, should they choose it. That they’ve targeted such an icy Canadian January to release this second record is all the more reason to root for them.

Rating: A

- Cam Lindsay