Band dabs in new pallet
Andrew Lane-Lawless
Issue date: 2/5/10 Section: Arts & Entertainment
One prominent feature of the band's sound that seems largely missing is Koenig's sunny guitar. "White Sky," apparently written very soon after the completion of the band's first album, features many of the band's new sounds and Koenig's guitar comes in only briefly in short chirps, sounding oddly restrained. In fact, of the 10 songs, only "Holiday" and "Cousins" really feature guitar front and center. This is an interesting move, considering that Koenig's clean tone shimmer is one of the more distinctive parts of the band's sound. The approach doesn't always work, but on "Run" which opens with a nifty guitar figure, only to subvert it when the band comes in, the results show a band with strong sense of balance.
"Contra" goes a long way towards fulfilling the promise of Vampire Weekend's debut, but it doesn't quite match that album's breezy pop. Whereas the debut had only strong songs, with the possible exception of "One (Blake's Got A New Face)," "Contra" features a couple of duds. "Giving Up The Gun" finds Vampire Weekend in uncomfortably teen-pop sounding territory and the auto-tune in "California English" is just one of many things that makes that song a cross between mildly pleasant and annoying. However, the album ends on a good note.
Between the swirling atmospherics, subtle strings, hand drum percussion and acoustic guitars, "I Think Ur A Contra" is much more ambitious than anything Vampire Weekend has ever done and other than the first 30 seconds of "I Stand Corrected," it's the only time the band has completely slowed the tempo. In large doses this would probably ruin the band's appeal, but at the end of a fast-paced and slightly unfocused album, it's refreshing.
"Contra" goes a long way towards fulfilling the promise of Vampire Weekend's debut, but it doesn't quite match that album's breezy pop. Whereas the debut had only strong songs, with the possible exception of "One (Blake's Got A New Face)," "Contra" features a couple of duds. "Giving Up The Gun" finds Vampire Weekend in uncomfortably teen-pop sounding territory and the auto-tune in "California English" is just one of many things that makes that song a cross between mildly pleasant and annoying. However, the album ends on a good note.
Between the swirling atmospherics, subtle strings, hand drum percussion and acoustic guitars, "I Think Ur A Contra" is much more ambitious than anything Vampire Weekend has ever done and other than the first 30 seconds of "I Stand Corrected," it's the only time the band has completely slowed the tempo. In large doses this would probably ruin the band's appeal, but at the end of a fast-paced and slightly unfocused album, it's refreshing.
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