Refining the cheerfully collegiate chamber-pop of their debut, Contra finds Vampire Weekend shooting in hi-definition, throwing synthesizers, drum machines and dollhouse levels of production detail into their previously modest sound while drawing on a world of styles Vampire Weekend only hinted at—like a jump from old sepia photographs to an animated .gif. In the mix are shades of Chicano punk (“Cousins”), suburban ska (“Holiday”), English power-pop (“Giving Up the Gun”), and Caribbean soca (“Diplomat’s Son”), all of which backlight stories as strange and smart as they are bittersweet.