Additional InformationContra makes the global sound local, mixing baile funk, ska, and electronics into the band's sweet Afro-indie pop.
Reviews"It retains all of the band's sunny key elements: clean electric guitars, buoyant keyboards and poppy African rhythms...", 4 stars out of 5 -- "Brainy, confident and generally awesome....The drums are bigger, the guitars are faster, and the songs are outfitted with synth beats and hip-hop, reggae and electro accents.", Ranked #13 in Uncut's "The 50 Best Albums of 2010" -- "Clever and catchy songs loaded with Clash allusions.", 4 stars out of 5 -- "With its melodic beauty, orchestral invention, rhythmic subtlety and metaphysical wit -- it's still unmistakably Vampire Weekend.", "CONTRA opener 'Horchata' displays a caliber of pop songcraft and melodic intuition that gives The Shins' James Mercer a run for his harmony...", "CONTRA is more fully formed, a '70s-style record-type record. It's their version of the Talking Heads' MORE SONGS ABOUT BUILDINGS AND FOOD..."