Contra
by Vampire Weekend
  • Record Label: XL
  • Release Date: Jan 12, 2010
User Score
6.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 598 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 404 out of 598
  2. Mixed: 82 out of 598
  3. Negative: 112 out of 598

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  1. TryQuiche
    Jul 1, 2011
    10
    I don't see why this album is so harshly judged by so many. It seems superiour to original in basically every possible way of comparing the two. The reason why the original album was so strong was that every there were no weaker song and all were instantly likeable from the first listen. This album seems the same, with the possible exception of California English which wasn't instantlyI don't see why this album is so harshly judged by so many. It seems superiour to original in basically every possible way of comparing the two. The reason why the original album was so strong was that every there were no weaker song and all were instantly likeable from the first listen. This album seems the same, with the possible exception of California English which wasn't instantly likeable, but I am now a fan of. How Contra differs is that it has much more depth than the debut, with the final three songs being so much greater than the sum of their parts. I really see it being very close to infallible, as there really isn't anything notable I can find to criticise...

    While I find it impossible to ever pick a definitive "favourite album", Contra would be one of the three albums that get down to the "you can't make me choose between them" stage.    … Expand
  2. Kalhur
    Jul 8, 2011
    10
    I think that this album contains any magic effect on me, when i listen songs like diplomat's son (a relly fantastic song). Cousins, Horchata, Holiday and Giving up the gun offers diversity into his own style and interpretation of music. A beautiful continuation o his debut album.
  3. freebagels
    Jan 7, 2012
    10
    Here's the thing: I didn't really like their first album all that much. "Oxford Comma" was nice and all, but the rest of the album was just a bit twee and insubstantial for my tastes. What makes Contra such a great record is that it packs much more of an instrumental punch than it's predecessor, while deftly maintaining everything that people love (and hate) about Vampire Weekend. It'sHere's the thing: I didn't really like their first album all that much. "Oxford Comma" was nice and all, but the rest of the album was just a bit twee and insubstantial for my tastes. What makes Contra such a great record is that it packs much more of an instrumental punch than it's predecessor, while deftly maintaining everything that people love (and hate) about Vampire Weekend. It's smarter, too: whereas the self-titled seemed naive and precious - and thus a wide-open target for it's legions of critics - Contra, on the other hand, seems proudly defiant. Tracks such as "Horchata" and "Holiday" encapsulate everything haters love to spout about, but this only contributes to the fact that these songs are, in fact, catchy as hell and extremely well done, as is the rest of the album.

    Over all, an enormous improvement over their so-so debut, and one that is capable of both nuance and the blissed-out excitement that put them on the map in the first place.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

74
#74 Best Album of 2010
12
#12 Most Discussed Album of 2010
36
#36 Most Shared Album of 2010

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
81

Universal acclaim - based on 39 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 34 out of 39
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 39
  3. Negative: 0 out of 39
  1. MSN Consumer Guide (Robert Christgau)
    100
    Contra establishes that his band has chosen another path, celebrating the world's contradictions, contraindications, and contradistinctions with a new pop sound made up of old pop sounds that aren't the same old pop sounds.
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  2. Drowned In Sound
    60
    Contra is a solidly entertaining, well-constructed album, and if people take to it, the tendency to mock the band will, I think, fade, simply because it doesn't have obviously unfashionable moments to feel uneasy about.
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  3. Rolling Stone
    80
    If Vampire Weekend was Rushmore, Contra is their Royal Tenenbaums: brainy, confident and generally awesome.
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