Vampire_Weekend

Vampire Weekend

The first time I heard Vampire Weekend’s second album Contra (released in January), I was disappointed. They had coaxed a new modern vocabulary out of throwback analog sounds on their first record, and here they were edging toward the hipster mean by bringing in electronics, as if they thought they were at risk of becoming tired-sounding so they decided to ape TV On The Radio. It seemed counterproductive.

But, God bless ‘em, they kicked my ass out of that whiny purism when I deigned to give it a second shot. If you don’t hold the first record as a gold standard you’ll notice that the electronics are actually well-placed and not as pervasive as they seem at first blush. More importantly, the glorious pop hooks are all still there, as is the joyfully energetic playing.

And so is the winking gleeful celebration of old-money privilege. In an era when nothing violent, sexual or blasphemous could be shocking enough to titillate, VW found the new locus of our shame, the coveting of a relaxed and self-satisfied mid-century opulence, and reflected it back to us so we could wallow in this dirty secret. And we all pitched collective tents in our collective madras shorts in gratitude.

(It’s both disappointing and encouraging to find out the guys in the band are more sensitive and indie rock than their aura paints them to be, or that they think statements from the press such as the one above misrepresent them. But it’s not going to stop me from wanting to mix up a highball when their music comes on.)

And NOW is the time to see them, my friends, because they have not yet recorded a single bad or even mediocre song, which means wall-to-wall action on stage. They’ve been hitting the circuit hard in Europe, North America and down under this spring, and it’s all festivals all the time for them this summer. Really, what could be better for a summer festival than music that makes you dream of a late-afternoon party on the yacht?

-Kern

Live. Live. Live.