Album Preview: Vampire Weekend - Contra

As a so-called "indie blogger" I know I am supposed jump ship on a band once they start to cross the threshold where one might argue that the band in question has "made it". And while it's true us blogger hacks, aka tastemakers, usually do pride ourselves in finding those obscure little undiscovered acts there is something to be said about sometimes just going with the flow.

Perhaps I was supposed to turn my back on Vampire Weekend the minute they appeared on SNL or at least by the time my mom knew who they were, but I just can't help it. They are simply too darn engaging to my afro-pop side --indie credibility be damned.

Everyone and their mothers have had "Horchata" on their iPods since the fall, but it doesn't take a listener past track 2 to realize that Contra picks back up right where their 2007 self-titled debut left off. "White Sky" replete with those familiar tribal rythyms and African vibes that put the Ivy-Leaguers on the map.

So the only real question left is whether or not Vampire Weekend have successfully managed to avoid that old familiar slump that so often plagues many a sophomore album. While Contra may not boast anything quite as catchy as "M79," not many albums released in the past year-and-a-half can make that claim either. And while the autotune Koenig uses to embelish his pipes on "California English" doesn't exactly venture into T-Pain territory, it's still almost as off-putting. But even with the detractors Vampire Weekend have still managed to come up with an album that shows flashes of maturity, torrents of purpose, and floods of pop knowhow.

More importantly though, it shows loads of promise and serves to prove that Vampire Weekend aren't simply one-album wonders. Now you can all go tell your moms that Vampire Weekend won't be going anywhere anytime soon.

MP3: Vampire Weekend - Horchata

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