Alright you “Kids”-loving MGMT fans, their latest album dropping April 13 won’t send yah straight to any indie club searching for fellow song memorizers. Sorry.
Instead, you’ll find yourself an easy listening electro-psychedelic piece suitable for a chill night … or a deep sea adventure – you decide.
“Congratulations,” the sophomore attempt by the Middletown, Conn.-born group finds itself asking for no one song to be more promoted than any others.
And what a great idea that is.
Sure “Time to Pretend” and “Electric Feel” off 2007’s “Oracular Spectacular” marked the highlights of many a lifted evening and/or Square One dance session, but it seems Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Martin Goldwasser have found alternatives to their style.
“Congratulations” starts off with a surfy tune, “It’s Working.” It’s here the don’t-call-us-management crew establishes an aquatic feel I felt during the rest of the album. The fact their cover art for this one features a large blue wave doesn’t hurt, either.
Moving along, we hear “Someone’s Missing” which may as well be called “Electric Feel Part II.” It has the same high-pitched vocals we grew to love (and destined to falsetto-butchering by your co-workers).
The main stay of the album is “Flash Delirium,” probably one of the only marketable beats this go ‘round. But remember, folks, that’s not a bad thing! This one gives you a Middle Eastern feel at the beginning and molds itself into that traditional electro sound and beat we’ve grown to consider synonymous with MGMT. I like it a lot because there’s a bit of flute fluttering in the middle of it.
Then there’s good ole “Siberian Breaks,” a 12-minute escapade that explores many different tempo changes and sound changes more suitable for a jam band stint. It’s lyric-laden and definitely gives off more British-inspired vibes reminiscent of lo-fi artist Tom Milsom. There’s even a tribute to it with “London’s a scratch on the lens/ It’s over before it begins.” The techniques used to switch between song within song include the aforementioned tempo changes, pauses and even a split second reversal. The last segment makes you feel as though you’re now in an extraterrestrial waterland, perfect for a level of Sonic the Hedgehog.
It may look like I’m going track-by-track in this nine-ditty record, but I would be dead before I failed to mention “Brian Eno.” This one opens up with drumstick tappin’ you gotta love. MGMT utilizes a three chord progression and the vocals echo Vampire Weekend-inspired lust. You and your buddies need to learn this one for a late night road trip, particularly going to a soiree in which someone you’re jealous of will be in attendance (“We’re always one step behind him/ He’s Brian Eno”). In the middle, there’s a tempo change that places you in some cantina, and it’s ever-so wonderful. The fast pace of the track will have you steppin’ a little harder on that accelerator — so be careful.
The whole piece ends with title track “Congratulations.” It’s a slow and peaceful tune which utilizes acoustic guitar, so you can cover it and put it on YouTube. Serving as the voice of what MGMT most likely wants you to think of the album, “As strange as it seems/ I’d rather dissolve than have you ignore me” sways through the second verse. “Spread my arms and soak up congratulations” later follows.
And a congratulations MGMT should get. This album isn’t meant to be a poppy play-me-on-the-radio-and-at-clubs more suitable for ‘Spectacular.’ If you want to sing a-long, you’re going to have to listen to the tracks over and over as the lyrics are hard to follow due to the louder music.
You should definitely give it a buy if you’re an MGMThead, but if the bartender at club TSI doesn’t know your drink, borrow it from a friend to mellow out one night.
