Song Analysis: Vampire Weekend – Cousins
Vampire Weekend have been gearing up the release of their second album, Contra, for some time now. They’ve played quite a lot of the new songs live in shows this year and it’s already been a few weeks since the tropical Horchata was first released. Back then I expressed slight disappointment but found enough in their melodic hooks to keep me coming back for repeated listens. It’s now November, where the weather is chillier, windier, wetter, and far more depressing. However, Vampire Weekend are back with their first official single release from the new album.
Cousins, in many ways, is a very typical Vampire Weekend song. It’s economical – after two minutes and twenty seconds the song has finished and you, on initial lessons, will wonder how the hell it ended so quickly. There are some strong melodic hooks courtesy of Ezra Koenig’s vocals (which now looks like being a prominent feature on Contra). It still has vibrancy and energy, underpinned by the sound of Ezra’s chanting at the beginning, which almost sounds like he’s being beaten by a stick. This song also, for me, seems a lot punchier and a bit more in-your-face than anything off of their first album and that is why I like it a lot. If Cousins is an accurate representation of the new album then we should be in for a treat.
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Posted on November 24th, 2009 by Max
Filed under: Song Analysis, Tracks
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