Vampire Weekend's Contra
(August 18, 2020)
(August 18, 2020)
So far, we've had two misses and a hit in the Rediscovering pile, so here's a weird one. Some albums, I go into them knowing they won't jive with me, and others, I know I'll have to listen to a few times before they click. This one was a bit of a wildcard in that what I did remember of it was both strongly positive and...strongly negative. Things could go either way here, and even after breaking the rules and giving it a third listen? I'm only partially sure of my choice. Still, I'm sure you want to hear something nicer than what I had to say for Stereolab, and in that regard, I deliver.
Enter Vampire Weekend's 2010 sophomore record Contra.
Of course I know the old Vampire Weekend singles. "A-Punk" was goddamn everywhere for a bit (Lego Rock Band represent, but also The Inbetweeners was pretty good), and "Oxford Comma" is more than catchy enough to make up for its tidy, studied prep school references (and...Lil Jon). I first discovered Contra proper from, believe it or not, the music video breaks the TeenNick channel used to show in the mornings between shows. I have no clue why I watched so much Saved by the Bell in middle school, but I did. The only two videos they showed I can remember now are the Degrassi version of V V Brown's "Shark in the Water", and far more relevantly today, "Cousins".
Now, I fucking love "Cousins". The song is fast, catchy as all get out, gonked out with stream of consciousness nonsense lyrics ("Dad was a risk-taker/His was a shoemaker/You "Greatest Hits 2006" little list-maker"), and has one of my favorite videos in recent memory. (Surprised to see the test clips for the video are still up, watch them for more weirdness.) Genuinely excellent modern pop rock. The follow-up single "Giving Up the Gun" is another heavy hitter favorite of mine (quite literally in the case of the video), and "Holiday" rounds out the trio memorably, if not quite as strongly. I've been burnt trusting the singles before, but I already own the CD. What's the worst that could happen?
Vampire Weekend are one of those quintessential 2000s internet bands who just accidentally got popular off the strength of a few demos and word of mouth. (See also: Arctic Monkeys, Arcade Fire, Alt-J...) The difference is that these guys were Ivy Leaguers (and not even rich ones at that)—so naturally, virtue-signalling white people took exception to them. As a result (and you can see some of the babble on Contra‘s own Wikipedia page), rather than just letting the band get on with their shit producing their quirky, clacky indie rock, we now have to have a chat about whether or not successful, smart kids can play with guitars too.
Contra, by the band's own account, was born out of this dichotomy of conflicting perspectives. After all, the name ostensibly refers to Nicaraguan anti-socialists—but more likely, it just refers to the old NES game.
Not that I'd know that listening to it. At least with a track like "Oxford Comma", it pretty directly ties into pretentiousness—liars keeping up their own image, never once missing a chance to lie or throw in a fastidious bit of punctuation some consider elitist. Aside from what I can gather from the surface here (from an American perspective, horchata is a rather pretentious, hipstery drink, and diplomats are pretty important), I wouldn't have the faintest fucking clue what any of these songs were about. I also haven't really studied the lyrics booklet, admittedly.
Vampire Weekend sound bizarre on this album, more so than the singles would imply. At times, I didn't know whether I liked, hated, or was indifferent to what I was listening to. Things start with the aforementioned "Horchata", which went from annoying to cute to annoyingly cute to "fuck it's kinda catchy" every time I listened to it. Sometimes in one sitting! Likewise, "California English" barely registers as English at all, and I was absolutely no better off after reading the lyrics. Perhaps it's a weird, rappy version of "Sitting Still", where the entire point of the song is that you can't understand it. That's the theme. Still, by no means a bad showing—just disorienting.
This one definitely takes a few listens to grow on you. "White Sky", the second track on the album, was in one ear and out the other until I had my bearings, at which point a cute, bouncy little song came out to greet me. In my eyes, the falsetto bit around 1:04 is what makes it. "Taxi Cab" is similar in that it's easy to forget it's even on here (hell, I just did, I expected it to go into "Run"), but while it's on, it's a comfy, low-key ballad, an empty house between the party going on at 400 California Avenue and the marathon down the street. I'd be willing to bet the final two cuts, "Diplomat's Son" and "I Think Ur a Contra", are the same way, but more likely, they just pair towards a lumbering, forgettable ten minute finish.
But, you see, therein lies the weirdness about Contra; it's not my new favorite album, nor am I really in the right headspace to fully appreciate it right now, maybe ever, yet I like it too much to chuck it. What headspace that'd be, you tell me. It doesn't make me wanna check out their other records, I don't like the sound quite enough for that, but it earns its place when I inevitably throw it on again in a few years. If nothing else, I'll bop around to "Cousins" again. It's indeed a line that's always running.
...Yes.
Indeed, my appreciation for this freaky little indie pop record has grown immensely with time! I still think "Horchata" sounds like it's trying too hard to be cute and novel, but "White Sky", "California English", "Taxi Cab", and of course all the singles, all bangers. This is the first album in the pile I like, unqualified, no "well, there's some good in there". I really like this, honestly way more than I did when I did the Rediscovering for it.