| Artist: Vampire Weekend
Album Title: Contra
Reviewed by Amy Yee I-Ling
If you look up "Contra" in the Oxford American Dictionary you'll find that it means: a member of a guerrilla force in Nicaragua that opposed the left-wing Sandinista government in 1979-90. Now look down further and you'll come across the latin words, "contra mundum", which in English gives the meaning of defying or opposing everyone else. At present, Vampire Weekend are entirely "contra mundum"; in the sense that they don't conform to music trends and styles. Songs such as "Holiday" are like hot days on the beach, eating ice cream with the sea breeze blowing through your hair and the feel of sand between your toes. The same applies to "White Sky". Keonig (lead singer), manages to sound so completely unfazed and modest on this particular tune—it's enough to bite your tongue and click the repeat button. Another fine track is "Taxi Cab", a warm laid back ditty that accents on repeated piano chords, delicate percussion's and "the lazy and safe". Even with the frisky brisk of tracks of "California English", "Cousins", "Giving Up the Gun" and "Diplomat's Son", there's a connective thread to other much tender track's laid on this album as well.
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