Contra was released less than two weeks into 2010. Week after week I waited for someone to top it. Here I am, December 31st, still waiting. Nearly twelve months on, the songs sound as fresh and as expertly-produced as they did at first blush. To borrow a Sarah Palin-ism, this album may be the best refudiation of the sophomore slump since the curse was first diagnosed. The whole band – and lead singer Ezra Koenig in particular – sounds more assured than on the debut, which is something, considering they weren’t really the shrinking, shoegazer type to begin with. As Koenig sings on “Holiday,” “I got…a healthy sense of worth.” Indeed. Lately, this band’s high self-esteem is just good common sense. Grade: A
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