I'm not sure about everyone else, but I had no idea how Vampire Weekend were going to follow up their 2008 debut. Don't get wrong, I loved their first record, it was completely different to anything else around and they made some of the most interesting new music as well as some of the catchiest pop tunes (A-Punk, Oxford Comma), but without repeating the trick and getting boring, what were they going to do on a follow-up to stay so current?
Well the answer is 'Contra', another delightful, soulful, different and enjoyable record. There are so many elements to Vampire Weekend's music that it is hard to know where to start describing it, yet alone try and decifer all their influences. Yea, the wonky, afro-beat rhythms are still there, as are the opaque lyrics, but whether you understand it, or even 'get it', no one can listen to this album and not feel something joyful, mostly wanting it to be summer already. 'Holiday' is fantastic, 'Horchata' sounds like some Little Mermaid theme tune, and in 'Cousins' they have another 'A-Punk' indie disco classic.
