2.2.10
Spoon's Transference might be my favorite Spoon outing since Kill the Moonlight, the first Spoon record I ever owned. It's a different vibe than that record, but it shares the same stripped-down, minimalist approach (although as rock bands go, Spoon is pretty minimalist in general). And now that they've achieved moderate success, it doesn't feel like they're trying so hard for a mainstream breakthrough——they seem much more comfortable simply being who they are.

2.1.10
Writing an in-depth review for the new Vampire Weekend's Contra must be pretty hard, because it all boils down to: if you liked the first Vampire Weekend album, you'll like this one; if you didn't, you won't. I kinda like the first one, and I kinda like this one. The only real difference is that there are no obvious great tracks on the new one, but overall it's much more consistent with fewer weak spots than their debut.