Vampire Weekend- Contra

Am I alone in thinking that it's insane that Contra debuted at number 1 on the Billboard charts? Who is rushing out to buy albums in January, anyway? Well, OK, as weird as the situation may be, it's understandable. Vampire Weekend's debut was an addictive indie pop affair that borrowed bits from reggae and world music via Africa. Paul Simon's Graceland was a big touchpoint for most people, though honestly I hear that comparison much more strongly on Contra. Mostly I'm just surprised that a band on an indie label could become so popular and inspire such loyalty after only one release. Even the fairly similar Shins took two albums and prominent placement in a popular movie to get this huge...

The biggest difference from Vampire Weekend to Contra is more about the instruments featured than any kind of stylistic shifts or songwriting approach alteration. Contra maintains the same startlingly high level of memorable and catchy songs as the band's debut, but this time out the band has mostly put down the guitars and picked up keyboards, drum machines, and even what is either a vocoder or auto-tuning on 'California English.' At first this change really turned me off. For various reasons, I don't really like synth-pop, not to mention the kind of 80s production where drums always sound muffled and synthetic and the bass has that rounded-but-flat tone to it. What's more, Contra really does bring the Graceland comparisons into sharp relief: tracks like 'Taxi Cab' and 'White Sky' have the kind of fingertapping, pop and lock rapid fire guitar and bass work that made that album so distinctive.

Once I embraced the change, however, I found Contra to be an excellent release, and a worthy follow-up to Vampire Weekend. Petty and temporary though this may be, my only complaint is that Vampire Weekend once again released such an obvious summer album in the cold grip of January. The effervescent bounce of 'Holiday' doesn't seem quite right when you're sitting in your car in the morning, shivering and sipping coffee from a travel mug. But I digress. The more I've listened to Contra, the more I find myself wondering if it's actually better than their debut. The album closer 'I Think Ur A Contra' alone displays a great deal of growth and maturity in songwriting; with its low piano notes and ominous tone it kind of reminds me of 'Those To Come' by the Shins.

Yes, I may actually like this one more than their debut. I suppose I'll reserve judgment for my usual year end listmaking, but keeping in mind that I'm not the hugest fan of either synth-pop or Graceland, it should be pretty telling that I'm already considering it.

The Best Albums of 2008 Part 1

16) Beck - Modern Guilt
While he hasn't been releasing flat out bad music, Beck's cache has been muddled in recent years by a series of merely good albums with few surprises. Though it wasn't on the same level of the return of Portishead, Modern Guilt was one of my main surprises of 2008. The album sounds fresh and new, borrowing from modern day hip hop and 60s pop/rock and producing a concise, polished album of great songs.

15) and 14) Los Campesinos! - Hold On Now, Youngster.../We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed
While I haven't gotten around to reviewing these yet, Los Campesinos have, with the two albums they released this year, proven themselves to be as consistent and catchy as indie pop bands twice their age. The band deftly walk the indie rock line between sincerity and irony: song titles like '...And We Roll Our Eyes In Unison' may read more like titles of bad MySpace poetry but in actuality are damn good songs crammed with ideas and hooks. Fans of Belle & Sebastian and Architecture In Helsinki need apply.

13) The Dodos - Visiter
You initial point of reference for this album will probably be Animal Collective circa Sung Tongs, but The Dodos are much less psychedelic and drone-y and much more energetic and buoyant. The songs match intricate acoustic guitar to spastic, flailing percussion that recalls all sorts of exotic African/non-Western influences. All of this is more impressive because The Dodos are only a duo yet produce full bodied music ripe with dense production.

12) Atlas Sound - Let The Blind Lead Those Who See But Cannot Feel
While Deerhunter gave their noise/pop a restraint and polish with their album from 2008, Bradford Cox explored the electronic, ambient, and dream-pop headspaces with his 'solo' work under the Atlas Sound moniker. Let The Blind... makes for a hell of a headphones album, all glistening synthesizers, looped guitars, and longing, pained vocals. While not as immediately impressive as most of the albums on my list from this year, this one has been a return pleasure for me since its release very early in 2008.

11) Deerhoof - Offend Maggie
Deerhoof get better with time just as much as they stay good. Offend Maggie wisely adds a second guitarist to the line-up after an album with only one, bringing the band back to their 'classic' sound circa Milk Man and Runner's Four while still adding new wrinkles and twists to their now established sound. I suspect this new line-up have something even better ahead of them, but Offend Maggie is a damn good new beginning.

10) No Age - Nouns
Bands like No Age are the reason I haven't given up on music or hung myself. What I mean is, if you had asked me who No Age were at the start of 2008 I wouldn't have had a clue. Yet here I am, a few days before 2009 begins, and a band I had never heard of is on my list of best albums of 2008. This is why I love music: that endless discovery of new, great bands. That rush of new-ness coupled with excellence. Nouns is such a succinct, effortless slab of noise-pop that it's easy to underrate it in the grand scheme of things. My Bloody Valentine may never release another album or if they do it might be crap, but that's OK. Bands like No Age ensure that noise-pop will always have a future. And, err, a present.

9) Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
It's odd to revisit this music in the middle of winter because it's so quintessentially made for the warmer months, when you hear about breezes instead of wind chill factors and at the very worst you might have to wear jeans instead of shorts. Nevermind that this was one of the most hyped up and talked about releases of the first part of 2008. Nevermind all the comparisons to Afro-pop and Paul Simon's Graceland. Mind, though, how infectious and addictive this album is.

Album of the Week: Vampire Weekend- Vampire Weekend

A few times each year, a band seems to come out of nowhere and rise to huge critical and popular standing within the space of a few weeks. Vampire Weekend are one such band, who, over the first few months of 2008, went from a blip on the radar to appearing on SNL and having their videos featured on MTV.

A lot of what you'll read about the music on their self titled album has to do with afro-pop and how the band are upper crust, Ivy League college grads. However, this misses the real thrust of their music, because whatever genre it might belong to or be influenced by, Vampire Weekend is addictive indie pop. Significantly, Vampire Weekend toured with the Shins in 2007, perhaps the Father of all "indie pop darlings who come out of nowhere to be really popular."

While the singles 'Mansard Roof' and 'A-Punk' are the obvious treats, the album is 35ish minutes of brilliant, catchy indie pop. 'M79' has a Harpsichord-laden intro and strings that tip the band's hat to Classical music, as well as a charming bridge around the 2:45 mark that rhymes callous with madras. 'One (Blake's Got A New Face)' has plinky 80s keyboards and the album's most surprisingly hook filled chorus, though the singer's voice seems to crack on the high pitched "Blake's" part each time. Maybe that's part of the fun. Finally, album closer 'The Kids Don't Stand A Chance' offers the strongest connection to more standard American indie pop, an almost proto-typical finale that slows the pace, pours on the harpsichord and strings for one last hurrah, and leaves one with the same satisfying ending as on 'The Past and Pending' from Oh, Inverted World by the Shins.

I suspect this album will only become more popular and beloved as the year goes on, particularly once we get into Spring and Summer. It's not often that an album so addictive and instantly accessible comes along, but Vampire Weekend have proven themselves worthy of all the praise and success they've achieved with this one.