Here are two things I think about them:
1. The main thing about Vampire Weekend is rhythm. They’re not good at the architectural stuff that you need to be good at to write great songs, like I’m never waiting for that part of the song that I really like to come. Koenig has a great voice but he’s not using it for anything that’s especially melodic. But Chris Tomson’s drumming keeps you a little disoriented more or less all the time (wait is this beat three or four?), and that’s why the band is so much fun to listen to.
2. This is their “California” album, and the NYer profile described them doing research, like reading Joan Didion and eating at In-N-Out (there’s also a line about Animal-Style in one song, right?). Researching is my favorite way to engage with something, too, but it’s not the only way. I wasn’t getting any kind of CA vibe from Contra until I stopped listening for what I hear in Joni Mitchell, which is what happens when someone actually lives there for reasons that aren’t just “I want to make a record about this place.” Contra is about California like Natural History Museum dioramas are about Wooly Mammoths. That’s not meant as criticism.
But if someone from CA wants to tell me I’m wrong, do it.
