In the relatively short time I’ve owned an iPod, there are two songs I think have been played on it more than any others. Both of them are by MGMT. One is called “Electric Feel;” the other is “Kids.”
Like the rest of the songs on the group’s 2008 debut Oracular Spectacular, they sound distinct from one another, yet are all capable of sending a shocking surge of groovy down the back of your spine.
That capacity for different musical styles and sounds is why I, along with many fans around the world, have been thirsting for the newest chapter in the musical catalogue of MGMT: Congratulations.
The psych-out Brooklyn pop duo of Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden has returned to the studio after the massive success of its debut album. Featuring nine other musicians, Congratulations is a step aside from the single-packed collection of Oracular Spectacular.
The album cover alone is something to behold. It looks like a semi-frozen wave in the shape of Sonic the Hedgehog about to devour a frightened surfing fox/rabbit creature.
Congratulations isn’t a total diversion from the familiar sound or attitude of the group as MGMT has always tended toward the psychedelic, clearly evidenced in the kaleidoscopic madness of the music videos for “Time to Pretend” and “Electric Feel.”
This time around, MGMT has created a mixture of songs overflowing with both sonic and lyrical creativity. As many of its “out there” forefathers like the Flaming Lips and Animal Collective can attest to, creative music may not always be the easiest music to listen to.
This is not an experimental album, however. When one categorizes something as “experimental,” it normally means that said group entered the studio with a general idea of the sound desired but had no idea what the end result would be.
This isn’t the Flaming Lips’ Embryonic, which was a double album full of intense and harsh cacophonies; this is a fully-realized and concise nine-track album – the product of inspired visionaries.
The most interesting aspect of Congratulations to me is not just how the music sounds, but what a few of them are actually about.
“Siberian Breaks” is a 12-minute epic about surfing in the Arctic Circle that sounds like five or six different songs all rolled into one. “Brian Eno” is a self-described “vampire-punk-rock” sing-along about someone following the source of spooky sounds in the night to find that they are being made in a black cathedral by musical mastermind Brian Eno. It might take a few listens for the Super-Mario-haunted-house sound to catch on with some people, but the song might be my favorite track on the album simply because it’s so quirky.
The songs on Congratulations don’t follow the predictable verse-chorus-verse-bridge-chorus outline that most songs today follow. Almost all of songs change rhythms within themselves. From its soft, slow opening, “Someone’s Missing” throws you for a loop when it builds up to an epic disco breakdown.
It’s clear that MGMT is truly appreciative of its fans. The entire finished album, despite its official release date being this Tuesday, was posted on its Web site a few weeks ago with a short message: “Hey everybody, the album leaked, and we wanted you to be able to hear it from us. We wanted to offer it as a free download, but that didn’t make sense to anyone but us.”
At this point, I must extend a word of caution to those potential listeners of Congratulations. As college students, many of us listen to music on laptops. To fully and appropriately receive the waves of this wonderful new album, a laptop listen of Congratulations must be avoided completely.
This album should only be played in places capable of producing loud, soul-shaking bass and great treble, like car speakers or headphones. A laptop will muddle and ruin the sound of the album and many of its subtleties will be lost.
Congratulations may not win MGMT loads of new fans, but it should certainly please those who have been listening for some time. Anyone looking for an album full of “Time to Pretend”-ish songs will be let down; that road has already been taken.
I was setting myself up to be disappointed and the result was quite the contrary. After repeated listens, I have found myself enjoying it more and more. MGMT takes the listener on one of the wildest trips modern music has presented in a while. Congrats, boys.
4 out of five stars