Vampire Weekend’s self-titled debut album was an unexpected success, selling almost 500,000 copies and catapulting the band to popularity in both mainstream and indie circles. Fans embraced the New York band’s educated play on words and raw instrumentation, commending its innovative sound. However, with every successful debut album comes high expectations for the next and a threatening “sophomore slump.” While many bands have fallen back into oblivion after disappointing follow-up releases, Vampire Weekend’s Contra only solidifies the band’s undeniable appeal. Contra recently debuted at No.1 on Billboard’s top 200 after its release on January 12, 2010 on XL Records, a well-deserved achievement for a well-crafted album.
Contra is intriguingly absurd. It thrives on juxtaposition, fusing African rhythms and electronic effects, auto-tune and orchestration, and ballad and high energy in a way that is simply genius. The first track, “Horchata” introduces the African/Caribbean rhythmic theme of the entire album. This percussion also plays a large role in “Run,” and “Diplomat’s Son.”
There is no doubt about this album’s absurdity after being taken on the adventurously odd ride that is “California English.” The band takes huge risks in this song, combining auto-tuned vocals and orchestration with an African/electronic background that makes the entire song so bizarre you can’t help but listen again. Another repeat-worthy track is “Giving Up the Gun” which pleasantly integrates female vocals and displays improvement in the overall production quality of Contra in comparison to their debut release.
This album has several highlights, but there are a few songs that require more than a couple listens to really enjoy such as “Holiday,” “I Think Ur a Contra,” and the album’s first single, “Cousins.” While the music video for “Cousins” perfectly personifies its funky and frantically energetic style, it took quite a while for me to notice and appreciate the song’s excellent bass line and unusual percussion.
Despite this, Contra is impeccable. It is strange and confusing in all the right ways, beneficially worldly and daring, and excitingly unpredictable. Contra successfully displays Vampire Weekend’s growth in both its musical and technical abilities, showing that, for this band, there is no such thing as a “sophomore slump.”
Rating: 
(4.5/5)
