For every best there’s always a worst to accompany it. Let’s be honest here, it’s been a pretty good year for music. We here at the FOWR offices have been saying that for a while. But that still doesn’t change the fact that there’s a lot of shit floating around out there. In turn, we decided to give an award to the the worst album of the year.
Can you guess what it is?
It’s totally not what you’re thinking.
I think.
“Contra” was a bit of a shock for me because Vampire Weekend’s previous album had a lot of strong songs on it. That’s not to say there weren’t good songs on “Contra,” actually some of my favourites to come from Vampire Weekend are on this thing here (See“Giving up the gun”and “Cousins”). It’s the contrast between those and the majority of the rest of the album that bothered me. The first 3 openers of the album are possibly the most annoying songs ever written. “California English,” “Horchata,” and “White Sky” are a collection of cheesy pop tunes that miss the whole reason why I liked Vampire Weekend. A part of me was just frustrated at this album after hearing “Cousins.” I ask myself why couldn’t they tap into this sound again? Why is this the only track on here like this? Instead of going back into the hard-hitting sound of “Cousins,” they moved off into this sillier, artificial realm that doesn’t work at all.
“Contra” feels like a missed opportunity, which is why it’s our “Not Best Album of the Year.”
Fermata over Whole Rest 
I approve.