Album · Vampire Weekend
Contra by Vampire Weekend
Contra is an album by Vampire Weekend, released in 2010. 5 songs from it have charted on rock radio countdowns, with 104 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “Cousins”, on 40 lists with a best position of #5.
Contra, Vampire Weekend's second album, landed on XL Recordings in January 2010, produced by the band's own Rostam Batmanglij. "Horchata" and "Cousins" had already been out since 2009, so the New York four-piece arrived with half the hype built in before anyone heard the whole thing.
It's a brighter, busier, stranger record than the debut: worldbeat guitars that ping and skitter, a synth-pop sheen, and Ezra Koenig's voice gliding over the top like he's narrating a very clever travel diary. Chris Baio and Chris Tomson keep the rhythms nimble, "Cousins" sprints like it's late for class, and "Holiday" and "Giving Up the Gun" go down like a sugar rush. Critics loved it, it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, and years later it was still turning up on lists of the best albums of the 2010s.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from Contra on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cousins | 40 | #5 | – | 2009–2026 | |
| 2 | Giving Up The Gun | 28 | #15 | – | 2010–2025 | |
| 3 | Horchata | 21 | #9 | – | 2009–2025 | |
| 4 | Holiday | 12 | #12 | – | 2010–2025 | |
| 5 | Diplomat's Son | 2 | #23 | – | 2010–2013 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.