Today Vampire Weekend released their much anticipated/overly hyped album Contra and it felt like one of those indie albums that could never live up to any expectations that early promotions have built up.
A couple of years ago when Vampire Weekend was an internet buzzband, I never gave them much thought beyond their music. I watched as their identity evolved from unknowns to preppy ivy league grads to indie rock darlings with a growing fan base, billboard charted singles and songs featured in movies. When a follow up to their debut was announced in September 2009, the hype began to snowball into the avalanche that was a weekend long sneak peak of the album on satellite radio, appearances on both The Tonight Show and The Late Show within a week of each other, an episode of MTV Unplugged, and a direct message in my MySpace inbox reminding me that their album was on sale. If i didn't plan on getting excited for this album, they were going to find a way to make me. So could a record that seemed to be doing everything short of begging me to listen to it be any good?
Yes.
Contra is good, but it's not an album that will surprise anyone or change the musical landscape. Vampire Weekend doesn't change their sound, so much as mature it in the sense that they seem more comfortable with it. If you liked their first record, it's safe to say that you'll like this one and it's exactly what a band's sophomore effort should sound like. But the intense promotion was inescapable to me online, on tv, and on the radio. Why push so hard for something that would naturally appeal to so many people? Spread out those talk show performances. Chill out with the radio interviews. If the record is good, it will sell. Maybe I just enjoy watching artists like Vampire Weekend emerge with a fresh sound, rather than having that sound attempt to overwhelm my conciousness.
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