Vampire Weekend - Contra

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. The album title is intended as a thematic allegory and reference to the Nicaraguan counter-revolutionaries and the 1987 video game 'Contra'.

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. The band still flaunts the collegiate sense of discovery that made Vampire Weekend charming but with more maturity and creativity. 

The album features the singles "Horchata", "Cousins" and "Giving Up the Gun"

Heavyweight vinyl produced by XL Recordings in 2009.