Midway through the decade, it suddenly became cool to be preppy again. Distorted punk guitars were on their way out; musical poise and elegance were back in fashion. Ultra-cool New York band Vampire Weekend rode the crest of this trend, combining a pristine WASPy sound with a surprising afrobeat influence to create a masterpiece of an LP. 'A-Punk' was, naturally, the biggest hit of their debut album, but seems something of a punky black sheep compared to the baroque tinkling of 'M79' or the aloof 'Oxford Comma'. Decade Defining Track: Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
