Oh, Vampire Weekend. I’ve tried to resist your infectious Afro-indie pop in the past and time and time again I end up tapping my foot – or God forbid – I start bobbing my head to the beat. Produced by Rostam Batmanglij, the band’s keyboard player, Vampire Weekend continues their “Upper West Side Soweto” sound. The follow-up to their hugely popular self-titled debut, Contra is a confident, catchy, and satisfying set of songs that layer world beats, frenetic drums, and punctuating guitars with Ezra Koenig’s quirky lyrics (“In December, drinking horchata/ I’d look psychotic in a balaclava”). Contra comes out on Jan. 12. – Written by DBosket
SIMILAR | The Dodos, High Places, Passion Pit, Ra Ra Riot, The Shins, Tokyo Police Club