Vampire Weekend’s Second Album:
A good rollercoaster ride that ended too quickly
A Side
January 12, 2010
After the success of their debut album, American indie band Vampire Weekend looks set to redefine what we expect from the genre once again.
Contra, the band’s second album, will be released today, January 12. Like their initial offering, it is defined by the beautifully layered sounds and huge variations from track to track.
Continuing in their somewhat bewildering campaign to incorporate African rhythms in a pop setting, this new album shows a distinct progression in the band’s sound. Firstly, the tracks feature less of the tinny and rambling guitars found in their earlier works, instead utilizing a wider range of sounds, from synthesizers to reggae beats.
This change hints at the band’s development as a music-making machine - now part of a major label, they have easy access to the sort of equipment that, only two years ago, would have proven far more difficult to find.
Musically, the second album is not as strong as the first. However, this is not to say that this album is not good. The band just had far longer to compile the first album and poured years into the tracks for it. On the flipside, the succeeding album was produced relatively faster to maximize the band’s recent and rapid rise to fame.
Once more, you can expect to be wowed by frontman Ezra Koenig’s lyrics. They hold the songs together, moving from the sublime to the simplistic and back again, yet always driving the songs forward while keeping them cohesive.
In short, Contra is a wildly adventurous undertaking with each song beautifully and fearlessly layered to an impressive level, especially considering how quick the album was produced.
Click the track titles to listen
Running at an all-too-short 36 minutes, you’ll breeze through the album in no time. Then you’ll want to put it on loop and start again. Each of the tracks requires more than one listen to fully appreciate, but in the end, Vampire Weekend’s second album is definitely worth your time.
