01. Horchata
02. White Sky
03. Holiday
04. California English
05. Taxi Cab
06. Run
07. Cousins
08. Giving Up The Gun
09. Dipomat's Son
10. I Think Ur A Contra

I bought this because i like horchata,especially on a hot summers day.


VW's second, Contra, is as gem-like as its predecessor, if arguably less 

immediate. It finds inventive new ways to do the same thing as before – the 

classic task of a second album. There are fewer guitars and a far richer 

soundbed. The African sources are still audible, but this time, Congolese 

thumb pianos, redolent of Konono No 1, crop up on "Horchata". New 

appropriations include Puerto Rican reggaeton, Jamaican dancehall, and 

Californian ska-punk.

Most rock bands can't avoid comparisons with the Clash when they drop ska 

or reggae into their sound, as VW do on "Diplomat's Son", a funny little skank 

that comes curlicued with violins. The sweet, sad closer, "I Think Ur a 

Contra", contains another Clash allusion, when singer-songwriter Ezra Koenig 

rhymes "rock'n'roll" with "complete control" (a Clash song).

The Clash named their fourth album Sandinista, after the Nicaraguan 

left-wingers; you can only assume Contra is some sort of perverse reference to 

VW's favourite band rather than any support for the right-wing death squads 

covertly funded by the CIA.

The Clash references, though revealing, are fleeting; Vampire Weekend 

certainly haven't turned into rebel rockers. Geopolitics features in passing on 

Contra; Koenig is too evolved a lyricist for anything else. "Holiday" notes the 

tension of recent times obliquely. "A vegetarian since the invasion/ She'd 

never seen the word 'bombs' blown up to 96 point Futura," he sings.

Rather, each impeccably crafted nugget here is an experiment in rhythm that 

grabs inventively from both high culture and low. "California English" boasts 

disorienting Auto-Tuned vocals and more violins. Moreover, Koenig no 

longer seems to be quipping his lyrics, but crooning in falsetto on an album 

whose joyousness is tinged with wistfulness and regret. Contra, then, 

confounds and delights once again, with new heart offsetting Vampire 

Weekend's not inconsiderable brains.

cd ripped by dBpoweramp

please seed
 
http://dickthespic.org/2010/12/25/vampire-weekend-2/