Vampire Weekend - Contra

Contra starts off with the overly-dramatic Horchata. I guess you'd call it a sappy epic, with many African-sounding harmonies. Next comes the up-beat White Sky, with a chorus that includes a bunch of cheerful cries of joy. Then Holiday starts up, and you're thinking "Alright, the old Vampire Weekend back, cool!" But in the midst of the song, you hear something that sounds like a provoking auto-tune crack in Ezra's voice. "It can't be! Nah, they wouldn't do that." Next up: California English. "Ah fuck, they did it." I guess if you don't really know the old Vampire Weekend, or if you liked Discovery's debut album, then the auto-tune vocals won't be a problem. I find myself skipping this song because it sort of ticks me off. But after this minor speed bump, it's all back to normal. The beautiful and echoey melody of Taxi Cab, the victorious sounds of Run, the quickly-paced perfection and extreme catchiness of Giving Up the Gun and so on. But the real scorcher of Contra, the dominant track, is of course Cousins. If you absolutely had to purchase only one song from this record, I would recommend Cousins. The rapid-fire drums, the melody, and the Christmas-like bells all leading up to the final note make it a perfect song. Your foot will tap uncontrollably.
Well, I guess that just about does it. Contra definitely deserved its Number 1 spot on Billboard's Top 200.



-Julian