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Vampire Weekend - Contra

I want to hate it, I really do. The thing about Vampire Weekend is that they are who I think they are. They are a mediocre yet incredibly over-hyped New York indie rock band who have some vague african influences, and big trust funds. And I want to hate them, but I can't seem to muster all of that negative emotion. The truth of the matter is they are kind of *gulp* fun. Sure, their lyrics are kind of empty and dumb, and the music doesn't sound particularly inspired, but sometimes you want a Kripsy-Kreme and just aren't in the mood for Baklava.

I can't say that this second outing is any better than their first. There are certainly songs on this album that I like less than any of the songs on their first, also very mediocre, album, but this album is more upbeat. I would call it a pop-rock record more than an indie rock album. Maybe indie-pop… but that seems to be something of a contradiction in terms. I'm hoping this will be the last album they release. Even though I'm sure they have at least one more in them. Like I said, I want to hate them. I want to hate them so much, but they just have a certain pop sensibility that makes it hard to not at least smirk when you hear some of their songs. I am not going to blow them like almost every other indie critic I've read review from, but I'm not going to hate-fuck them in a dark alley either.

5.5/10