Vampire Weekend – Contra

You know, I really tried to like Vampire Weekend and their new album Contra, but I really just can’t get over how fucking pretentious these guys are.

Seriously!

I appreciate an African vibe and a solid appreciation of African music, but really?

You’re four Ivy League white dudes with trust funds. Really, just get the fuck over yourselves already. Vampire Weekend is simply too hip for me, I guess.

Vocally, it’s kinda neat, and musically, too. Ezra Koenig’s got this Bob Marley/Paul Simon thing going on most of the time, except for the shrieking in “House”. I don’t know what that’s all about, but it’s really unnecessary.”Horchata” is kind of catchy, except when Koenig tries to rhyme “horchata” with “baclava”. It’s like Rivers Cuomo trying to rhyme “bitch” with “kids”: Painful.

What also gets me on this album is the track, “I Think UR A Contra”. You’re talking about a Nicaraguan revolution here, man, you can’t take the time to actually spell out the word “you’re”? Also, Vampire Weekend is certainly not, and never will be, The Clash. Give up on that now, guys and leave Sandinista! alone.

On the plus side, I think that they guys of Vampire Weekend love this album. It’s something to listen to with their hipster friends while they puff away on cigarettes and sip their Starbucks with their superior smugness.

These guys are really pathetically hip.

I just can’t do it. I can’t get into this album or this band or even give them a good college (pun intended) try. Because of the one catchy song, it gets a D. Minus.

Vampire Weekend’s Site

 

HIP. STERS.