So let's just start off by getting this out of the way. I kind of hate Vampire Weekend. Their blend of prep-school pop just irks me off. I know I shouldn't judge a band by the fact they all went to Columbia. One of my favourite bands of all time, Gallaxie 500, all went to Harvard, but the biggest difference here is that Gallaxie 500 pushed the boundaries of space-rock, and most of the songs were about being stoned. VW on the other hand, embrace their prep-school upbringings. I mean, look at the goddamn cover of their newest album, Contra! The girl looks like she lives on long island and her daddy runs Merrill Lynch.
Ok, now thats off my chest, I'll get to my biased review of Contra...
Vampire Weekend does write some pretty catchy tunes. Their self-titled, debut album was a pretty good, with some good tracks on it like "Boston" and "A Punk". The problem was that with the blow-up success of that album, VW has failed to really write any songs as immediately catchy as the ones on the previous album. Instead they tend to rely on songs that range from some sort of energetic afro/ska/pop in "Cousins" to straight-up, gag-inducing pop of "Giving Up The Gun"
Overall the album has some catchy indie-pop songs, but none that immediately pop out at you. Instead you are left with an album that's listenable but not entirely fully realized and memorable.
Check out: "White Sky", "Cousins" and "Diplomat's Son" (grrrrrr rich people can suck it)
Rating: 4.0 (out of 10)
Well said. I agree.
ReplyDeleteglad you have a blog - i rely on your opions wholly. will avoid vw contra, though was tempted due to npr review....
ReplyDeletequestion: delta spirit?