Toronto – Despite their short existence, I’ve had many warm memories of Vampire Weekend already. For one, my original post about this band was linked to by New York Mag in one of the first holy s^% moments of the Panic Manual. Having said that, it’s amazing to see how much backlash this band has been receiving lately for simply becoming more popular. It seems the same bandwagon fans who jumped onto them in the beginning are now turning on this Brooklyn band for no apparent reason. Lets face it, Vampire Weekend is no longer for the indie kids, they are now for everyone, from grandmas to little kids. Their blend of Africany influence music is as accessible as any music out there and it’s just pretty damn good. So the real question is, how is their second album?

Before reading the actual review, please view the first 30 seconds of this youtube clip for context:

In this famous NFL meltdown, then Arizona Cardinals coach Dennis Green famously ranted “The Bears were who we thought they were! THE BEARS WERE WHO THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE!”. In reviewing many bands, truer words have never been spoken. The new album Contra is exactly what you expect from this band. It’s light, it’s bouncy, it has its cruise ship music influences and it references random shit that only people with upper class education would know about. After hearing the album a few times, I can say that it is a very enjoyable album. It is nothing groundbreaking, but too often we ignore the good things in life to look for something completely different. You can’t honestly say after hearing Horchata that it isn’t in your head for awhile (although they should record an Asian version of the song with Horlicks). Diplomats Son reeks of MIA but I guess that’s cos it samples a MIA song. Cousins and Giving up the Gun are both reasonably catchy songs.

So in conclusion, the new Vampire Weekend album is exactly what you expected it to be, and you would be a fool to expect otherwise. It’s an album you can always put on and listen to, and if you throw it on a party or a mixer, then all the people who aren’t music snobs will be like ‘oh, thats Vampire Weekend! I know them’ and then they’ll feel a little more secure about themselves in the presence of other people whose music knowledge is superior. That alone is priceless.

Related posts:

1. Concert Review: Vampire Weekend, Horseshoe Tavern, Oct 8, 2009 Apparently, I’ve been asleep since 2007. At least, that’s...
2. CD Review: Local Natives – Gorilla Manor [2010, Frenchkiss] Toronto – This is going to be a fairly...
3. CD Review – Green Go – Borders [2009. Pheromone Recordings] Toronto – Green Go is a band from Guelph,...
4. Weekend Primer – Toronto, September 25 Toronto – Well, it’s the weekend, so what are...
5. CD Review: Lali Puna – Our Inventions [2010, Morr Music] It has been over 5 years, but Munich based...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.