Vampire Weekend’s 2008 self-titled debut album certainly offered more than your standard indie effort – african pop, catchy guitar riffs and ivy-league charm as a perfectly blended homage to Paul Simon’s 1986 Graceland. Whilst enjoying huge success, and deservedly so, there was the suggestion that VW could produce more than a collection of punchy, attractive singles.

Their Sophomore effort Contra then, certainly achieves this, and is a terrific response. The album itself hardly makes forty minutes, and the immediacy that their indie counterparts may have is lacking, but this was never the desired strength of the album. With a few listens Contra becomes a joy to listen to, and I think more importantly, a joy to listen to in its entirety. For Ezra Koenig (the band’s vocalist) this notion is particularly important, “I think the ideal record covers a lot, but still somehow is all wrapped up together – it is all about vibe”. Their sound has perhaps not changed an awful lot; there are the punchy numbers of Cousins and Holiday, the romance of Taxi Cab, and the playful ingenuity of the two slow-paced closers Diplomat’s Son and I Think Ur A Contra, however an incredible variety of influences from early MIA, to folk, classical and The Clash, sets it apart from their debut.

Yet it does not leave the album feeling disjointed or confused, but as a single body of work. In an age where the downloading of the single overshadows everything, where the concept of ‘the album’ is dying a death, Contra couldn’t have come at a better time. They have then, created a vibe that is in all respects their own, and shows the maturity that a good second album should.