Album of the Week
On Vampire Weekend’s second album, Contra, the New York Ivy Leaguers shed the skin of Graceland yet retain the grace of that album’s creator, Paul Simon. Overall, VW employs Simonesque wordplay and observational qualities, not to mention his gentle vocal phrasing.
And in individual tunes other elements crop up as well: the percussiveness of Rhythm of the Saints (“Horchata”), the combination of electronic thwack and ambience of Simon’s work with Brian Eno (“Taxi Cab”) and the skillful application of a soft melody over a harder edged rhythm (the impeccable “Giving Up the Gun”).
Vampire Weekend is more mature and assured on Contra, processing rhythmic concepts much as Talking Heads did at the end of the 1970s and early ‘80s. Like David Byrne and his troupe, the roots of the music were rhythms from far-off continents; the layers above were distinctly urban white America. Both bands sound like no one else.
Contra kicks off with “Horchata,” a song that bears no resemblance to anything from their self-titled debut or even the other 10 tracks on the disc. Sigur Ros did that on their last album, side one track one being “Gobbledygook,” a bit of uptempo, circular goodness that was uncharacteristically buoyant and peppy. Music for the dance floor and the dinner table.
It’s a smart salvo. Alert the old fans that they are about to embark on something entirely new and then gently ease them back into the Vampire Weekend sound machine with more familiar elements. “Horchata” is a blissful bit of drums, wordless choral vocals and wistful memories, more Parisian than Gotham.
Smartness permeates this album -- in the lyrics, the employment of electronics, the compactness of most of the songs, the ambitiousness of the six minute-plus “Diplomat’s Son.” It’s also a breeze to get through.
The most significant difference between the debut and Contra rests in the sonic components. The songs have more layers, the drums are punchier and, on occasion, less than organic; the precision on the faster numbers -- and tempos here are consistently swifter than on the debut -- seems to be the result of additional rehearsal time and greater command of instruments and compositions.
Singer Ezra Koenig sounds more grown-up as well. Afrobeat, the dominant influence on VW’s debut, recedes under the cover of hip-hop, first wave ska-punk and modern multiculturalism.
Contra raises no questions about cultural pilferage, a problem some folks had with the debut, and instead suggests that modern rock-oriented music requires assimilation to survive. West African guitar music can fit in an arena rock shell just as easily as one track’s foundation is Toots & the Maytals and the next is Kate Bush.
Vampire Weekend has its windows open at home and on the road, soaking up culture whether it be pop radio’s dance beats, Bollywood or a street drummer banging on empty plastic paint containers.
