Friday, January 15, 2010

First Listen: Vampire Weekend, Contra

Okay, so this thing is going to get a full review on tm3am.com next week, but... what a strange record.

Vampire Weekend, one of the best new bands in ages, has followed up a winning, stunning debut album with a set of songs that dives even further into idiosyncrasy. They do deliver some of the African punk-pop they made their name on, but not as often as fans might like. Instead, there's lots of blipping synthesizer, one song with a mariachi horn section, one song that samples M.I.A., and several that seem to hang together by the barest of threads.

Does it all work? I'm not sure yet. I'm still processing. My first listen(s) were not absolutely favorable. More next Wednesday, after I've mulled it over some more. But full credit to the band for not delivering a carbon copy of their first album, for stepping out on a limb - no matter how shaky that limb might be.

1 comment:

  1. I can't stop listening to it - I like that it is different than the first release and think Taxi Cab beats anything they've done to date. I thought you would have eaten this one up. Anxious to read the full review! More anxious, actually, than reading your Beacon-News summaries of local legislative debates...You're very good, but you only have so much to work with, ya know!?

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