Ezra Koenig once described the sophomore slump as a "myth," which is a pretty bold thing to say when you're the face of the most blogged-about band on the planet. But he was right. In January 2010, the Vampire Weekend Contra album didn't just avoid a crash; it basically rewrote the rules for what a "prep-rock" band from Columbia University was allowed to sound like. It was bright. It was weirdly electronic. It was obsessed with the idea of "the West Coast" in a way that felt both ironic and deeply sincere.
Most people remember the controversy first. You know the one—the girl on the cover. Annelyse Sherrington, a blonde teenager in a yellow Polo shirt, captured in a candid Polaroid from 1983. It became the face of a million-dollar lawsuit because, apparently, she never signed off on its use. That image, though, perfectly captured the vibe of the record: expensive, vintage, and slightly out of place.
Moving Past the Cape Cod Aesthetic
If the first album was about boat shoes and campus architecture, the Vampire Weekend Contra album was about what happens when those same kids get a passport and a synthesizer. It’s a messy, glorious collision of styles. You’ve got the frantic, ska-adjacent energy of "A-Punk" evolving into something much more complex.
Take "White Sky." It’s basically a love letter to Paul Simon’s Graceland, sure, but there's this jittery, digital pulse underneath it that feels closer to Animal Collective than anything from the 1980s. Rostam Batmanglij, the band's secret weapon and producer, was really coming into his own here. He wasn't just arranging strings anymore. He was manipulating pitch, layering 808s, and making the harpsichord sound like a piece of futuristic machinery.
Honestly, the sound is hard to pin down. It’s "Upper West Side Soweto," as they famously called it, but with a heavy dose of California sunshine and Mexican horchata.
The lyrics shifted, too. Koenig stopped writing about campus geography and started writing about identity and class in a way that was way more subtle. On "Taxi Cab," he’s talking about leather seats and the quiet awkwardness of a relationship that’s losing its steam. It’s incredibly intimate. Then, two minutes later, you’re hitting "California English," a song so fast and autotuned it feels like your brain is being put through a blender.
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The Sound of 2010 (and 2026)
Why does this record still work?
Simple. It doesn't sound like a "band" in the traditional sense. It sounds like a collage. In 2010, critics were obsessed with "poptimism" and the blurring of lines between indie and mainstream. Vampire Weekend Contra album was the poster child for that movement. It proved you could be intellectual and catchy at the same time. You could reference the Nicaraguan counter-revolution (hence the title Contra) while making people dance to a song about a sugary rice drink.
The Breakdown of Key Tracks
- Horchata: The opening track. It sets the scene with marimbas and talk of winter coats. It feels like a cozy transition from the first album into something more "global."
- Giving Up the Gun: This is arguably the most "pop" moment on the record. It’s got a driving beat and a melody that sticks in your head for days. The music video featured Jake Gyllenhaal and Joe Jonas, which tells you exactly how big this band had become.
- Diplomat’s Son: This is the masterpiece. It’s six minutes long, samples M.I.A. ("Hussel"), and tells a story about a hazy summer night. It’s dub-heavy, experimental, and completely unique.
The production on "Diplomat's Son" is where Rostam really flexed. He took a tiny snippet of a vocal and turned it into a rhythmic hook. It showed that the band wasn't afraid to use the studio as an instrument. They weren't just four guys playing in a room; they were architects building a sonic world.
Why the Critics Were Wrong
At the time, a lot of people called them "pretentious." They hated the sweaters. They hated the Ivy League pedigree. They thought the band was just "playing" at being world-music aficionados.
But looking back, that criticism feels pretty dated. Every artist now pulls from a million different genres. We live in a playlist culture. Vampire Weekend was just ahead of the curve. They weren't "stealing" sounds; they were celebrating them. They took the structure of a punk song and dressed it up in African rhythms and synth-pop gloss.
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It’s also surprisingly political if you pay attention. The title Contra refers to the US-backed rebels in Nicaragua, but it’s also about being "contrary." It’s about the tension between being part of a privileged world and wanting to subvert it. "I think I'm a Contra," Koenig sings on the final track. It’s an admission of complexity. He’s not saying he’s a revolutionary; he’s saying he’s conflicted.
The Production Magic of Rostam Batmanglij
You can't talk about this album without talking about the technical side. Rostam’s approach to the Vampire Weekend Contra album was revolutionary for indie rock. He used "dry" sounds—meaning very little reverb—which made everything feel like it was happening right in your ear. The drums are crisp. The vocals are clear.
He also embraced "the glitch."
In "California English," the autotune isn't used to fix a bad singer; it’s used as a texture. It makes Ezra’s voice sound like a woodwind instrument. This was years before every indie band started using vocal processors as a standard tool. They were taking risks that most guitar bands at the time were too scared to touch.
Impact on the Indie Landscape
Before Contra, indie rock was still largely defined by a certain kind of "lo-fi" aesthetic or a heavy "revivalist" sound. You had the garage rock bands and the folk-pop bands. Vampire Weekend created a third path. They showed that you could be "high-fidelity" and "high-concept" without losing your soul.
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They influenced a generation of artists who realized they didn't have to choose between a catchy hook and a complex lyric. You see their DNA in everything from the Haim sisters to newer acts like Muna or even the more experimental side of Taylor Swift’s later work.
How to Listen to Contra Today
If you’re revisiting the Vampire Weekend Contra album or hearing it for the first time, don't just put it on in the background. It’s a headphone record.
- Listen for the layers. There are tiny percussion hits and synth lines buried in the mix that you won't hear on a phone speaker.
- Read the lyrics. They are dense, full of puns, and strangely moving.
- Watch the "Giving Up the Gun" video. It’s a perfect time capsule of 2010 cool.
- Compare it to "Modern Vampires of the City." You can hear the band growing up, moving from the bright colors of Contra to the darker, more existential themes of their third record.
The album isn't just a collection of songs. It’s a vibe. It’s the sound of a band that knew they were being watched and decided to do something completely unexpected. They could have made Vampire Weekend 2.0. Instead, they gave us a digital, colorful, confusing, and ultimately brilliant record that still sounds like nothing else.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Deep Dive the Samples: Go listen to M.I.A.'s "Hussel" and then listen to "Diplomat's Son" back-to-back. It’s a masterclass in how to use a sample creatively rather than just looping a beat.
- Check the Credits: Look up Rostam’s production work outside of the band (like his work with Solange or Frank Ocean). You’ll start to see how the "Contra sound" influenced the broader landscape of modern music.
- Vinyl Hunt: If you can find the original XL Recordings press of the album, grab it. The artwork and the physical presence of the record suit the music better than a digital stream ever could.