Brooklyn, NY's finest MGMT are back with their highly anticipated sophomore effort, Congratulations. The follow up to 2007's superb Oracular Spectacular finds the psychedelic duo of Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden completely abandoning the sound that was found on their predecessor for a more organic, raw effort that definitively captures the essence that is MGMT, and that makes for one of the best albums of 2010 so far.
The album kicks off with "It's Working", which has a distinct surf-rock feel to it which is largely depicted on the album's cover art, and that the album was recorded out in Malibu, CA which explains the ethereal, beachlike atmosphere on this track and totally defines their hippie-like persona that they seem to emulate both on the record and in person. "Song for Dan Treacy" is a melodic and musically diverse number that sounds like nothing they have done before with a variety of different instrumentation that is mind-boggling and is too much for me to list here. "Someone's Missing" is a total flashback track to the late 60's Woodstock era with its brilliant instrumentation and fun-loving vibes that are ever present on this track and all throughout the album. My favorite track on the album is "Flash Delirium", a electronic infused ditty that combines with the psychedelic rhythms to create a song that is nothing like any of their songs on their last album, most notably "Time To Pretend" and "Kids". It can best be described as an "anti-single".
As we continue on, we hear "Siberian Breaks", a mystical 12 minute opus that takes you on a trippy journey through calm, ethereal waves of electronic infused psychedelia and a bevy of instrumentation that will leave me rambling on for hours describing all the different sounds that are present on this track. "Brian Eno" is a fast paced, groovy rocker that offers up a little diversity on a predominantly psychedelic influenced album. Closing out the album, we hear "Lady Dada's Nightmare" a quiet, serene track that offers up a heavy dose of ambiance that allows the listener to take a break from all the heavy psychedelia heard so far and settle in a little with some similarly positive vibes. The album's title track closes out the disc on a high note with some surf-infused rhythms and pristine vocals from Andrew and Ben, who are at the top of their game on this one.
MGMT took a monumental risk on creating their second disc, as is with any band who are trying to recreate the same magic that made their debut album so successful. The band executed a very unique tactic for this album, as they released no singles to radio in advance of the album's release, although some radio stations have been spinning "Flash Delirium" in their daily rotation. It shows here that MGMT are not just that band who created the hit song "Kids", but a full fledged collective who are deviating from the norms of the music industry and creating an album that is representative of who they are and what they aspire to be, not some commodity of the record label that is only designed to recreate songs that are similar to their prior work.
All in all, a surprising and cohesive effort here from MGMT who have rewritten the formula for how a follow up album should be made, and have gone against the grain in terms for expectations from critics who thought that this album would be just like their last effort, but ultimately it's not. It'll be fascinating to see where MGMT is 5-10 years from now, possibly still evolving into a band that is constantly changing their sound with each album they make, but still retaining their distinct sound that has made them who they are today.
Album Score: 4/5
Track Listing:
- It's Working
- Song for Dan Treacy
- Someone's Missing
- Flash Delirium
- I Found a Whistle
- Siberian Breaks
- Brian Eno
- Lady Dada's Nightmare
- Congratulations
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