Precious, worldwide

Vampire Weekend’s new album, Contra, is a National Public Radio-friendly take on Noah Lennox, riding his indie-internationalism coattails. The release’s first song and single, “Horchata,” reaffirms both this and also the band’s proclivity to be everything to every continent, a Paul Simon incarnate, so to speak. “In December drinking horchata / I’d look psychotic in a balaclava,” Ezra Koenig starts, lethally one-upping the precious internationalism of V.W.’s self-titled debut, but this time erring on the contrived instead of the endearing side, complete with wandering xylophones, looming sitar and island-vibe lyrics about crabs pinching toes and aranciata-infused rice beverages. Yet somehow, I still find myself humming “Horchata”—especially after digesting the nine tracks that follow, which ebb and flow with the vigor of low tide. Find out more at www.xlrecordings.com/vampireweekend.