When Contra landed in early 2010, it arrived as a bold follow-up to Vampire Weekend’s widely acclaimed debut. Their first album introduced a fresh sound marked by Ivy League polish and African-inspired rhythms. With Contra, the band didn’t just stick to what worked — they pushed themselves further. This sophomore release blended their signature style with a broader mix of influences, adding hints of electronic pop, reggae, and even baroque textures, signaling a band willing to experiment without losing its identity.
Placed in the context of their growing discography, Contra stands out as a thoughtful progression rather than a sharp turn. It deepened their thematic reach and musical scope. Around the album’s release, frontman Ezra Koenig explained that the title — which means “against” or “opposite” — reflects the album’s interest in contrasts and contradictions. From consumer culture to inner conflict, the lyrics lean into ambiguity and nuance, capturing the tension between youthful privilege and self-awareness.
Sonic Exploration
From the first glimmering notes of “Horchata,” it’s clear that Contra is a sonically ambitious album. The production is bright and precise, a step forward from the raw charm of Vampire Weekend’s debut. Rostam Batmanglij, the band’s multi-instrumentalist and producer, crafts a soundscape that feels polished without being sterile. Each track is carefully layered, allowing room for quirky instrumentation and rhythmic surprises while keeping everything crisp and controlled. This clarity in production highlights the album’s lyrical tensions — polished surfaces masking deeper conflicts.
The arrangements throughout Contra are playful, inventive, and packed with sonic detail. The band leans into syncopated percussion, digital flourishes, and unexpected shifts in tempo and tone. Tracks like “Giving Up the Gun” marry synthetic textures with punchy beats, while “Diplomat’s Son” stretches into six-minute territory, weaving in samples, classical motifs, and a subtle dancehall rhythm. The vocal arrangements, too, are sharp and dynamic — Ezra Koenig’s voice moves from detached coolness to melodic urgency, often layered with harmonies that add depth and contrast.
Genre-wise, Contra is a melting pot. While rooted in indie rock, the album ventures into synth-pop, ska, Afrobeat, baroque pop, and tropicalia. It doesn’t just borrow from these styles — it blends them in ways that feel seamless and fresh. This genre-bending approach reflects the album’s thematic interest in contrast and contradiction. Rather than clinging to a single musical identity, Contra thrives in the in-between spaces, drawing from a wide palette to paint a sound that’s unmistakably its own.
Lyrical Analysis
Lyrically, Contra is as intricate and layered as its musical backdrop. At its core, the album wrestles with the tension between comfort and conscience. Themes of privilege, disconnection, and modern anxiety run through the lyrics, often filtered through a lens of irony and self-awareness. Rather than offering clear answers, Vampire Weekend poses questions — about morality, about identity, about the cost of maintaining ease in a complicated world.
Ezra Koenig’s lyrics walk a fine line between the poetic and the conversational. Lines like “In December, drinking horchata / I’d look psychotic in a balaclava” mix whimsical imagery with undercurrents of unease, setting the tone for an album that’s both clever and introspective. There’s a recurring interest in contradiction — the desire to care without being consumed, to live ethically without losing comfort. This is perhaps most evident in “I Think Ur a Contra,” a closing track that encapsulates the album’s central conflict through an elliptical, emotionally fraught breakup narrative.
The emotional impact of these lyrics is subtle but lasting. Contra doesn’t aim for overt sentimentality; instead, it invites listeners into a reflective space. The words might first seem playful or cryptic, but over time they reveal a deeper sense of longing and introspection. Whether it’s the disaffected tone of “White Sky” or the quiet melancholy of “Taxi Cab,” the album lingers in the mind not through dramatic highs and lows, but through its thoughtful, measured exploration of modern contradictions.
Cohesion & Flow
Contra unfolds with a sense of purpose and deliberate pacing. The album opens with the bright and percussive “Horchata,” setting a playful yet slightly off-kilter tone that echoes throughout the record. From there, the tracklist feels carefully sequenced. Each song flows naturally into the next, not necessarily in a narrative arc, but in an emotional rhythm that mirrors the album’s shifting moods — from exuberance to reflection, tension to release.
What ties the album together is not a linear story but a thematic undercurrent that persists across its diverse sonic palette. Despite the stylistic range — from the frantic energy of “Cousins” to the dreamy introspection of “Diplomat’s Son” — there’s a clear emotional and intellectual thread running through. The lyrics repeatedly return to ideas of contrast, identity, and disconnection, and the production choices reinforce these shifts in tone without breaking the album’s internal logic.
Contra manages to feel both eclectic and cohesive. Its sonic experiments never feel out of place, because they are unified by the band’s consistent voice and vision. This balance between variation and unity is a key strength. The album never lingers too long in one mood, yet it never loses sight of its core themes. In doing so, Vampire Weekend crafted a record that invites full-album listening — a journey where each track enhances the one before it.
Standout Tracks & Memorable Moments
Several tracks on Contra rise above the already high bar set by the album, each offering a distinct glimpse into the band’s evolving artistry.
White Sky
“White Sky” is a prime example — its buoyant rhythm and falsetto-laced chorus create a euphoric contrast to the subtle unease in the lyrics. It’s a track that captures Vampire Weekend’s knack for layering complexity beneath seemingly light-hearted surfaces.
Cousins
“Cousins” is another standout, delivering raw energy with its frenetic tempo and tightly wound guitar riffs. It’s one of the most immediate tracks on the album, brimming with urgency and confidence, a reminder of the band’s punkier instincts.
Diplomat’s Son
“Diplomat’s Son” is arguably the album’s most ambitious piece. Built around a sample of M.I.A.’s “Hussel,” the track unfolds in multiple movements, blending electronic textures with reggae rhythms and classical flourishes. Its lyrical ambiguity and shifting structure make it a microcosm of the album’s broader themes — elegant, unpredictable, and full of layered meaning.
Memorable Moments
Among the most memorable moments is the soft, aching delivery of the line “I think you’re a Contra” in the final track. It encapsulates the emotional and philosophical push-pull at the heart of the album. Another is the opening seconds of “Horchata,” where marimbas and synths create a dreamy, almost surreal atmosphere — a gentle invitation into a world where nothing is quite as it seems.
Artistic Contribution & Innovation
In the broader landscape of indie rock, Contra stands as a pivotal moment in the genre’s evolution. At a time when many indie bands were still clinging to lo-fi aesthetics or nostalgic guitar-driven sounds, Vampire Weekend charted a different course. Contra embraced digital polish, global rhythms, and an intellectual edge that set it apart from its peers. It didn’t just follow trends — it helped shape a new standard for what indie music could sound like in the 2010s.
One of the album’s most notable innovations lies in its fearless genre-blending. Without losing cohesion, the band weaves together elements of synth-pop, ska, Afrobeat, classical, and even hip-hop. This fusion is handled with a light but deliberate touch, making the album feel exploratory rather than gimmicky. Tracks like “Diplomat’s Son” and “Giving Up the Gun” exemplify this eclecticism, offering layered soundscapes that reward repeated listens.
Innovation
Thematically, Contra is also ahead of its time. Its exploration of privilege, globalization, and cultural contradiction feels especially prescient in hindsight. Rather than positioning themselves as detached observers, Vampire Weekend confront these topics with nuance and self-awareness. The result is a record that reflects its era while raising questions that remain relevant today.
In blending high-concept ideas with accessible, infectious music, Contra helped broaden the definition of indie rock. It paved the way for a new wave of artists willing to blur boundaries and rethink what it means to be both pop-savvy and intellectually engaged. For all its polish and charm, Contra remains a quietly radical album — one that pushed the genre forward by thinking globally and writing locally.
Closing Thoughts
Contra is a confident, multilayered sophomore effort that both challenges and charms. Its greatest strengths lie in its sonic daring and lyrical complexity. Vampire Weekend took the risk of moving beyond the fresh-faced indie pop of their debut, opting instead for a more intricate and introspective direction. The result is an album that is as playful as it is cerebral, filled with unexpected rhythms, cultural references, and emotional undercurrents.
While its polish and academic tone might feel overly calculated to some listeners, those willing to sit with the album will find rich rewards. The lyrical puzzles, genre fusions, and production subtleties offer a depth rarely found in indie rock of its time. If there’s a weakness, it may be that Contra occasionally prioritizes cleverness over emotional immediacy, leaving some tracks feeling more thought-provoking than deeply affecting.
Still, as a follow-up, Contra expands the band’s horizons without losing their core identity. It’s a bridge between their debut’s youthful exuberance and the more refined storytelling of their later work. For listeners, it remains a record that invites both movement and reflection — a rare balance of head and heart.
Official Rating: 8/10
Contra earns a solid 8 for its ambitious scope, inventive production, and thematic depth. It’s not flawless, but its willingness to explore new territory with style and thoughtfulness cements its place as one of the more intelligent and influential indie albums of its era.