Who?

A group of preppy indie kids fresh out of Columbia University, Vampire Weekend first took the music world by storm with their self-titled debut album in 2008. Combining a mix of straightforward indie rock with Graceland-era Paul Simon afro-pop, the band created a potent concoction that had critics either fall in love or despise them… though the bulk of them fell into the former category.

And I Care Because?

- They somehow made prep cool. And seriously, that takes a whole lot of skill and confidence. Never in a million years would anyone think that songs about Cape Cod, Ivy League schools, and the Mystic Seaport would strike a chord with the indie kids, but now they're all wearing singer Ezra Koenig's boat shoes and Lacoste sweaters with pride.

- Yes, they're catchy too. None of that trendiness would have come to pass if the band didn't know how to craft a song, but Vampire Weekend managed to make something both familiar and new at the same time while also throwing in earworm hooks on songs like "A-Punk" and "Oxford Comma."

- They're defying the sophomore slump. For most former blog buzz bands it works like this: love your old stuff, hate what the new. After hearing the band's new stream of their second album, Contra, you'll be hard-pressed to imagine the band losing fans, instead crafting an album that perfects and expands on their debut's aesthetic.

Stream Contra on MySpace, pre-order the album, and watch the video for "Cousins," the album's first single.