Vampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend Contra (180 Gram Vinyl) | Vinyl
Vampire Weekend Contra (180 Gram Vinyl) | Vinyl
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The scholarly Upper West Side Soweto of Vampire Weekend's debut sounded self-assured, but on Contra, they step out of their ivory tower with just as much confidence. In all senses of the term, this is a sophomore album. The band still flaunts the collegiate sense of discovery that made Vampire Weekend charming -- and sometimes too precious -- but with more maturity and creativity. Another Discovery is just as much of a force on Contra as any of the band's much-noted influences (Afro-pop, Paul Simon's Graceland): Rostam Batmanglij's electro-hip-hop-pop project with Ra Ra Riot's Wes Miles, which released its album LP after the pair found acclaim with their day jobs. While Vampire Weekend aren't as shiny and sugary as Discovery, some of that adventurousness rubbed off on Batmanglij's Contra production, which plays to the band's biggest strength: inspired juxtaposition. The album's artwork, which pairs a blonde WASP princess in a popped-collar polo shirt with the term given to Nicaraguan rebels, hints at the flair with which Vampire Weekend play mix-and-match on Contra. They throw listeners into the deep end with "Horchata," which features a four-on-the-floor beat, thumb piano, rubbery synth bass, and massed harmonies -- almost everything except the spry guitars that helped define their first album. "California English" goes farther, tweaking Ezra Koenig's yelp with Auto-Tune, the b?te noire of those who value "realness" in their music; for Vampire Weekend, it's just another instrument for them to play with. On paper, Contra's hybrids seem more contrived than they actually sound: "Giving Up the Gun" fuses baile funk, house and stadium rock into a sweet melody propelled by choppy rhythms. "Diplomat's Son" is even more far-fetched and fantastic, adding samples of M.I.A. and Toots & the Maytals -- exactly the kind of things you'd expect to hear on a young globetrotter's iPod -- to nostalgic chamber pop. The album bustles with so many sounds and ideas that it challenges listeners to decide where to put their ears first, particularly on the single "Cousins," a blur of guitars and jump-cut drums that sounds like abstract punk. Despite this busyness, Vampire Weekend are looser and less cryptic than on their debut, allowing them to tell stories like "Holiday," an Iraqi war protest set to skanking guitars (ever the font snob, Koenig can't resist mentioning a headline in "96-point Futura"). Even the few quiet moments are complex: "I Think UR a Contra" closes the album by wanting, and hating, the kind of privilege that brings "good schools and friends with pools." And though the band is committed to change, the same joy that soared through Vampire Weekend pops up on "White Sky," which boasts a melody so irrepressible that Paul Simon just might want to borrow it. With Contra, Vampire Weekend make Auto-Tune and real live guitars, Mexican drinks, Jamaican riffs and Upper West Side strings belong together, and this exciting lack of boundaries offers more possibilities than anyone could have expected. ~ Heather Phares
- Genre: Rock
- Released: 01/12/2010
- Format: Vinyl
Shipping & Returns
Shipping & Returns
We will gladly return any item that has been damaged during shipping or if there is damage to the item itself.
Please take photos of the damaged packaging/items and email them with a brief explanation of the damaged item to: returns@daredevilecords.com
Daredevil Records use The Planet app powered by Shopify to neutralize your shipping emissions and removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Daredevil Records has committed to donating the most amount of money possible from your order to offset C02 emissions.
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This includes funding innovative solutions such as direct air capture and mineralization, and a small portion of nature-based carbon removal. These funds companies such as 44.01, Carbofex, CarbonBuilt, CarbonCure, Charm Industrial, Climeworks, DroneSeed, Grassroots Carbon, Heirloom Carbon, Loam, Noya, Pachama, Planetary, Remora, Running Tide, and Sustaera. |
Carbon Removal Process
Carbon removal is the process of capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and then storing it.
For example, if a truck or a plane that delivers your shipment releases 1 kg of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, and you are subscribed to the Planet app, then Shopify ensures that 1kg of CO2 is also sucked from the atmosphere and stored away using solutions and technologies in Shopify Sustainability Fund.
There is a fast-growing and evolving sector with many carbon removal technologies in different stages of development. These technologies include nature-based solutions, such as reforestation and soil carbon sequestration and more high-tech solutions, such as direct air capture and mineralization.
How Shipping Emissions Are Calculated
The Planet app combines data from our store with industry data and peer-reviewed models to estimate how much CO2 your shipments release into the environment. Because the Planet app makes sure that CO2 shipping emissions are removed entirely, all values that are used in the data models are rounded up.
Review the following table to learn more about the which data is used to determine shipping emissions:
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Factor |
Primary value |
If primary value isn't available |
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Weight |
Weight of the shipment |
An average shipment weight |
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Distance |
Distance traveled according to the tracking data |
Straight-line distance between the origin and destination address, multiplied by an uncertainty factor of 1.5 |
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Type of transportation |
Truck or plane carbon emissions, determined by speed and distance |
Truck emissions |
To estimate your emissions, the Planet app uses order tracking data associated with the tracking number assigned to the shipment. If the tracking number isn’t available or the shipping carrier isn’t supported, then the Planet app multiplies the estimated emissions by an uncertainty factor of 1.5. The uncertainty factor helps make sure that all your emissions are removed. If any data is inconsistent or missing, then the Planet app uses a reasonable maximum value instead.
For example, suppose that you ship a package from Boston to New York. The straight-line distance is 305.94 km, but the shortest road route is around 350 km. If tracking data is available, then the Planet app uses the exact distance traveled.
However, if no tracking data is provided, then 305.94 km is used in the base calculation, and the resulting emissions would be multiplied by 1.5. This calculation accounts for variations in the route, such as distances traveled from post offices and distribution centers, and the route taken by the courier to deliver the package to your customer's door.
Considerations for using the Planet app
Review the following considerations for the Carbon Neutral Shipping Planet app:
- The models and estimates aren’t exact, but the Planet app overestimates your emissions to make sure that they’re entirely removed.
- The Planet app removes only carbon (CO2) emissions that account for 95% of the climate impact from burning fossil fuels for transportation. Other emissions such as CH4, N2O, and GHG aren’t removed.
- Orders that are shipped by sea transportation (we do not ship any orders by sea) don't generate the data required to accurately calculate emissions. Instead, industry-accepted alternative methods are used to calculate emissions.
- The Planet app currently focuses on addressing emissions from shipping-related transportation.
