So Vampire Weekend’s new album Contra is available for your scrutiny. Now the question left for anyone who really dug their first record like I did (#33 on my favorite records of the decade list — not ashamed) is how does it strike you now that you’ve had time to soak it in?

Unfortunately “Cousins” is one of only two halfway-decent tracks on the album. If it and “White Sky” were about the average level of the album, it’d be a noteworthy follow up. But since they’re the singles and kinda the only selling point here, let’s start with them. Did “Cousins” sound great on Letterman? Yeah. Well, not “great,” but probably impressive if you’ve never heard the band before. Enough to check ‘em out anyway. And “White Sky” has proven to be pretty rad live and sounds alright on the record as well. Neither really give you a memorable riff or any meaty melody to chew on, though. I mean, even the non-singles on their debut like “Bryn” and “One (Blake’s Got a New Face)” were instant earworms.

So yeah. Good showing on Letterman. Really disappointed by the sophomore record. Total Tapes ‘n Tapes-level sophomore slump that isn’t a bad record, but just one that failed in almost every way to capitalize on the strength of their debut.

But hey, they’re still a ton of fun live. Go see ‘em if you get the chance. If nothing else, you get to yell out “Blake’s got a new face!” with a few thousand other people. Tour dates after the break.

Vampire Weekend’s Contra tour dates
Sun 03/14/10 Edmonton, AB Edmonton Event Centre
Mon 03/15/10 Calgary, AB MacEwan Conference And Event Centre
Tue 03/16/10 Missoula, MT Wilma Theatre
Thu 03/18/10 Salt Lake City, UT In The Venue
Fri 03/19/10 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre
Sat 03/20/10 Aspen, CO TBA
Mon 03/22/10 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
Tue 03/23/10 Milwaukee, WI Riverside Theatre
Thu 03/25/10 Chicago, IL Riviera Theatre
Sat 03/27/10 Knoxville, TN Tennessee Theatre
Mon 03/29/10 Columbus, OH Lifestyle Communities Pavilion
Tue 03/30/10 Toronto, ON Sound Academy
Thu 04/01/10 Boston, MA Orpheum Theatre
Fri 04/02/10 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory
Sat 04/03/10 Washington, DC DAR Constitution Hall
Mon 04/05/10 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium
Tue 04/06/10 Asheville, NC The Orange Peel
Thu 04/08/10 Atlanta, GA The Tabernacle
Fri 04/09/10 New Orleans, LA House Of Blues
Sat 04/10/10 Austin, TX Stubb’s Bar-B-Q / Waller Creek Amph.
Sun 04/11/10 Dallas, TX House Of Blues
Tue 04/13/10 Tempe, AZ The Marquee
Wed 04/14/10 Pomona, CA Fox Theater Pomona
Mon 04/19/10 Oakland, CA Fox Theater