Stream Vampire Weekend’s Contra In Its Entirety

Thanks to the technology but unfortunately for artists, album leaks have frequently been music news for all of us. However, when an artist or band decides to put their entire album up on MySpace a week before the release, we can’t really call a “leak.”

When artists, such as Vampire Weekend, decide to be generous and give us a free listen before purchasing it, we call that a stream, folks. The advantage is obviously for the fans and music fiends, but what are the cons of it? When listeners are offered the opportunity to hear an album before they buy it, there is a 50-50 chance they will either love the album of hate it. In the latter case, the consequence may damage potential sales but with the evolution of music exchange, why not continue to be nice to fans in the new decade?

With the album cover apparently sporting cover art that embraces their ivy league culture, Vampire Weekend’s upcoming album, Contra, is fresh meat for music critics today. After being the first band featured on Spin Magazine’s cover without a record label, boasting a Best New Music label from Pitchfork, and chosen as a Band To Watch on Stereogum, the four piece band received so much hype with their debut, many were afraid that this sophomore album would disappoint.

Our verdict? Although many great bands such as BLK JKS and Fool’s Gold have proven to be successful in world music without resorting to mainstream pop, Vampire Weekend’s strategy of relaying jangly afro-pop music in an accessible way still holds up strong. When you go over to their MySpace page and listen to the entire album (for just one week), you’ll hear familiar singles such as “Horchata” and “Cousins,” but you’ll also hear those “different sounds” the band has been telling us to keep our ears open for.

For instance, “Taxi Cab” is much more mellow than most of what has become their signature sound. Keys shimmer through the light arpeggios with the fingers of Rostam Batmanglij and Ezra Koenig takes the yelps and chants down to a level that melds well with the string sections. Then there are tracks like “White Sky” which has the band sound more at home as they also recite places such as the MoMA.

There is one track that stands out and we’re not sure if it’s landing on the successful or lazy side. “California English” totes auto-tune all over the place and Vampire Weekend is the last band we expected to join this crazy fad. They don’t overuse it like Kanye or T-Pain, but they’re no Black Moth Super Rainbow either. Are we ready for a song which sounds like Peter Gabriel drowning in analog electronica? It just seems a bit odd when we know they could really be the soundtrack to all the lives of Wes Anderson fans roaming the earth.

Contra is out January 11 via XL Recordings.

Take a listen and let us know what you think!