The clue's in the title; there isn't a lot more anyone can say about Vampire Weekend that you haven't already read or seen elsewhere. Where the first album was a bit of a mess, the band don't sound like they're competing with Mark Mothersbaugh to score a Wes Anderson film on Contra. If it ended with the final strains of Giving Up the Gun, then Contra would be an early contender for album of the year (not that this will actually stop it...) but Diplomat's Son is just too long and I Think Ur A Contra sounds like the start of Chores by Animal Collective without becoming anything like the madcap bounce of anything by the Baltimore four-piece.
The rest of Contra is solid, with lead single Cousins providing a spark akin to A-Punk and the debatable 'afrobeat' stuff that always accompanies any review of any Vampire Weekend album is really good this time instead of a distraction, as the opening salvo from Horchata through to Holiday is a freewheeling ode to the ghost of summer future. The autotune makes sporadic appearances and isn't as bad as it sounds. They still sound like they're fumbling with the keys to open the front door, but once Vampire Weekend get in to the house, they'll throw a good party.
***
They should use a pic like this for the front of Marina and the Diamonds' album instead of those weird popart things, they just make her look a bit plastic. There's a lot of girls in the 'pop' market today, they've managed to keep it just on the right side of over-saturation but things always get overplayed in music these days so rather than mill through them all, I'll settle with Marina. She reminds me of Ladyhawke but with more than one good song and there's a cattiness that isn't quite as grating as Lily Allen. GLOVES OFF!
