Albums and Abominations
Remember "Kids"? That catchy synth line, those cryptic lyrics - that song was everyone's jam four years ago. How about the dance floor anthem "Electric Feel"? Both songs are by Brooklyn duo MGMT, off its 2008 debut album Oracular Spectacular. Songs like that will not be heard on the duo's latest release, MGMT. Instead, expect to see 10 eclectic, experimental, progressive synth-pop tracks reminiscent of early Animal Collective and completely devoid of the hook-soaked pop that powered Oracular. MGMT is a decent album, but it does not have the "Woah, what is this song?" feel of four years ago that so many people knew and loved. Weird and different? Sure. Will anyone know and love this record five years from now? I doubt it.
Take "Astromancy," a tribal, spaced-out dirge featuring rolling bongos and anesthetized lyrics describing (presumably) a drug trip through a colorful alien world. No one is being "shocked like an electric eel," but the track does what it wants to, providing a low-key soundscape to match the description. The next track, "I Love You Too, Death," begins with a blast of enough off-key recorders to rival a fourth-grade music class rehearsal and builds into another droning land filled with a million synthesizers while lead singer Andrew VanWyngarden, just above a whisper, falsettos a scene of heaven. These songs are neither exciting nor groundbreaking, but they represent what MGMT is: willing to experiment and do its own thing.
This is not to say the album does not have some interesting moments. Opener "Alien Days" twists two cyber voices into a strum-along ballad about the repetitiveness of everyday life. And the duo, which consists of VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser, does not stop there when it comes to reflections on everyday life. On "Your Life is a Lie," VanWyngarden puts it rather bluntly: "Count your friends, on your hands, now look again, they're not your friends / Hold your breath, everyone left, no surprise, living a lie." These feelings are real and resonant with the quarter-life, postcollege crisis but are not stated nearly as elegantly as on, say, fellow New York City band Vampire Weekend's new album.
"Introspection" is the album's best cut, as the duo takes a break from reflecting on life in one's 30s to reflect on reflecting. The song has a catchy chorus, and snares and hi-hats march the beat along. The best lyrics are also found here, with some interesting lines about looking into oneself. "Plenty of Girls In The Sea" is also solid, harking back to some earlier MGMT work and containing a dark, cunning play on the familiar anecdote. The song is pure honky-tonk meets electropop goodness and would serve as a break from the monotonous synths were it not the penultimate track.
MGMT does exactly what it sets out to do, but does not reach any kind of high - not the shrilling, fantasy star electro-rock highs of Oracular; not the grooving, rippling story songs of 2010's Congratulations; and not the ambient highs of any of the records it tries to imitate. There are bright spots, yes, but when a band releases an album, personal as it may be, its value can only be reflected in the impact it makes on others. MGMT fails to interact with the listener or share any insights of value.
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