Vampire Weekend - 'Contra'

Vampire Weekend
‘Contra’
(XL Recordings)

VAMPIRE Weekend’s 2008 self-titled debut album was a breath of fresh air to an ever-so-slightly arid music scene - particularly that emanating from uptown New York, where Ezra Koenig and co come from.
A bouncy, joyous infusion of Afrobeat and Caribbean rhythms, smothered in some delightfully juicy indie-pop tunes, with super-intelligent lyrics, VP felt like music’s equivalent to Wes Anderson, that eccentric film-maker who has done much to disassemble modern movies. Twisting genres, playing with beats and offering such delightful titles as Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa, Vampire Weekend offered an erudite and genuinely innovative take on indie rock-pop music, and it is safe to say they have come up with the goods on the supposed difficult album number two.
‘Contra’ is a delight, the New Yorkers replacing the earlier, almost adolescent, urgency with a confident maturity; as their ability has expanded, so too has their musical depth and confidence. All of the same elements are here in abundance; Afrobeats? - check; funky, indie-pop? - check; witty lyricisms and word-play? - double-check.
Opening the album with Horchata is an inspired decision; using the illustration of a sweet, milky traditional Mexican drink, set against a jumble of xylophone melodies and soaring drums, is pure pop-genius. “In December drinking Horchata/I’d look psychotic in a balaclava,” sings Koenig. The delicate bass and muffled handclaps of White Sky can’t disguise the strong Paul Simon-influence, and likewise is the moment you know this is a band at the top of their game.
The bizarre mumble of California English is at odds with the soothing rhythms and cellos on Taxi Cab - an early standout track - while that first-album frenetic energy returns on Cousins.
But it is the areas where Vampire Weekend digress ever so-slightly from their winning formula that are the most appealing on this album; notably the electro-samples employed on ‘Run’ - filled with undulating, off-kilter melodies - and the hugely impressive Giving Up The Gun, which retains that iconic sound, yet is backed with an electro-drum beat.
Finally, the dreamy-floaty soundscapes of final track I Think You’re A Contra, sees Koenig's vocals at their most relaxed, and Vampire Weekend flexing an orchestral muscle previously unheard.
The news is good; these Vampires are alive and well, and the future looks promising for their further development.
RATING 4/5

News, news and more news

I'm still catching my tail a bit having been off on holidays, gallavanting at the various festivals around the country. Here is some garbled news that has arrived on my desk over the last few days/weeks:

• Vampire Weekend are to release a follow up to the superb debut xxx on January 8th in Ireland. It's called Contra and will be out on XL Recordings. Track-list:

1. Horchata
2. White Sky
3. Holiday
4. California English
5. Taxi Cab
6. Run
7. Cousins
8. Giving Up The Gun
9. Diplomat’s Son
10. I Think Ur A Contra

See here for more details.

• The mighty Modest Mouse are to play in Dolan's Warehouse on December 5, very very exciting news, as reported by State. More details when I sniff them out.

• The Coors Light Peak event takes place this Saturday from 7pm on Limerick Docks, featuring Reverend and the Makers, RSAG, Dark Room Notes and local lads Walter Mitty and the Realists and Brigadier JC. Woop! FREE tickets available here... Previous story with more details here.

• On the Beat favourites The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra have released a delightful new single 'Soon', the second release from their forthcoming album Lowering the Tone, available 'soon' we are told! Available for download here.

• The second Tweak festival starts on Monday and we are very excited about it. Full piece below.

ONE of the most interesting and innovative festivals to take place in Limerick in recent years was “Tweak”, an interactive art and live electronic music festival that was run to huge success last year.
The festival is returning again this year and will run for six days beginning next Monday, with the aim of promoting “understanding of the use of technology within our cultural, social and digital world with a contemporary approach to interactive art and live electronic music performance”.
Nora O’Murchu is director of Tweak and explained that the festival’s “primary focus is on interactive art and audience engagement”.
“Installations and performances are chosen both upon their ability to connect with their environment and viewer inclusion in this exchange,” explained Nora, “and while the template is largely the same as last year, there has been a shift towards evening events and exhibitions this year.”
The festival will host an international array of speakers, performers, designers, exhibitions, films, visual artists, and djs from an eclectic range of backgrounds.
There is also an educational element to Tweak and as such three full-day workshops with leading practitioners in the field of programming, electronics and interactive design will take place over the course of the week.
There will also be a five day international electronic arts exhibition, along with a collection of sound-works from contemporary Irish composers and access will be completely free of charge. Several of the events will take place in the atmospheric surroundings of St. Munchin’s Church, in keeping with the theme of utilising spaces in new and inventive ways.
For full information see www.tweak.ie. Tweak begins on Monday, September 21 with a launch and exhibition in the Church Gallery on Clare Street at 7pm.