Vampire Weekend.

2008 was a big year for Vampire Weekend, releasing their debut, self-titled album on January 29th and then touring most of the world. I caught them in December at the Wellmont in Montclair, NJ. It was a very enjoyable night of indie rock and world music; after running through all the songs off their debut and a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Everywhere", the gentlemen clad in cardigans even presented a new song to the crowd, "White Sky". It put on display Ezra Koenig's vocals, reaching heights unseen on their debut. I was impressed, and anxiously awaited to hear more about their follow up. They headlined the soggy All Points West during this past summer alongside Jay-Z and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Multi-instrumental Rostam Batmanglij teamed up with Wes Miles from Ra Ra Riot and they released an electo-pop-R&B album, titled LP, on July 7th. Finally, Vampire Weekend released information on their follow-up about a month and a half ago. They even put up an MP3 of "Horchata", a new song off the album, a few weeks later. Contra, the second album by Vampire Weekend, will be released January 12, 2010. Cover art, track listing, an MP3 (thanks to Pitchfork), a video, and an interview with Ezra on the new album below:

01. Horchata

02. White Sky

03. Holiday

04. California English

05. Taxi Cab

06. Run

07. Cousins

08. Giving Up the Gun

09. Diplomat's Son

10. I Think Ur a Contra

Click here to download an MP3 of "Horchata".

Click here to watch "White Sky" performed acoustic.

Click here to read a Pitchfork-curated interview with Ezra about the new album.