The cover of Vampire Weekend's anticipated second record, Contra (XL), depicts a striking blond with blue eyes wearing a Ralph Lauren polo. She looks like the most popular girl at a wealthy California high school.
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If the Brooklyn four-piece, who joined forces while attending an Ivy League university, are looking to shed their upper-class, preppy image, they're going about it in an unusual way.
"It's interesting to see people's perception of clothing and what they read into it when they don't necessarily know anything about the person wearing it," bassist Chris Baio says while holding court in a downtown hotel. "That's an idea we explore as a band and maybe the cover explores."
"In terms of image, we're conscious of what we're doing," adds drummer Chris Tomson. "But I don't think we're always thinking about how people are going to react. It's just more if we like it and think it's a good vibe to put out there."
Contra, which is slated for a January 12 release, does put forth a good vibe regardless of whether the band members sport button-downs and boat shoes. (They vehemently deny wearing such footwear.) The album incorporates many of the same worldly influences as their self-titled debut (African rhythms, kalimba) but goes further with dancehall and reggaeton, as on Diplomat's Son, which samples M.I.A.'s Hussel and Pressure Drop by Toots and the Maytals.
The huge success of their debut meant Vampire Weekend could have recorded in any studio in the world and soaked up the exotic locale. They opted instead to work in Brooklyn and keep the production in-house courtesy of Rostam Batmanglij, the band's organist and co-songwriter, and singer Ezra Koenig.
"If we'd gone to Jamaica to make a record, it would be our Jamaican record, and that's totally not the goal of the band," says Baio. "We want to bring in music from all over the world, take inspiration and come up with something that's entirely our own. So for us, working in New York made the most sense."
"And to be fair, New York is pretty exotic," adds Tomson. "If you were in Bombay, it would harder to put your own spin on it. The idea is not to be too imitative."
Interview Clip
Bassist Chris Baio discusses the pressures of making Vampire Weekend's second album.
