Oracular Spectacular

Fantasticular!
My only complaint is that the sound could have been a little cleaner. Tough to crank it without all the garbling drowning them out.

Promising Start.
Great album worth your time, but I really can't wait to see where they can go. Let's dance right?

Terrifically varied synth pop. Pity about the cheap & nasty sleeve.
First, I'll get my whinge out of the way: the cd comes in a cheap and nasty cardboard sheath. First time I tried to take it out, it felt like the cd was glued to the cardboard...so, of course, you have to get your fingers a good hold on the cd itself. Getting fingerprints and scratches on your cd looks to be a certainty. Really, these guys should learn from the Japanese, who are immaculate when it comes to putting cds into cardboard sheaths...they put the cd in a cloth type sheat beforehand, so that the cd is in pristine condition and easy to remove from the cover. Oh well. Anyway, on the the music...I'd hear MGMT songs on video shows like Rage, and I really didn't get what all the fuss was about. Maybe I heard one or two songs..."Electric feel" was definitely one of them. And when I heard another song, it just seemed way too poppy for me...like a kindergarten level composition. However, sometime afterwards, the pop simplicity ceased to be a millstone and became a definite hook for their music. MGMT in this album cook up a very satisfying dish...with a pinch of Hendrix, The Doors, Mick Jagger, synth pop, accoustic guitar strumming, and Jean Michel Jarre thrown into the mix. Best song: Kids - this may have been the simple pop song which initially repelled me with its sweetness, but eventually won me over. It has a nice Cat Stevens intro (think "Remember the days of the old school yard") and a very heavy synth rhythm later in the song, reminiscent of Visage's "Fade to grey". An infectious, vdery catchy song with a light melody on the keyboards, which becomes a heavy synth sound later. The mix of light keyboard and heavy synth works a treat in this song. And the keyboard break in the middle of the song is also a pleasure. Drumming is solid, and good. Next best: Pieces of what - nice strumming pattern on the accoustic guitar with the singer channeling Mick Jagger and Randy Newman's vocal style. At times the singing is quite plaintive. The notes on the bass guitar are nice and the song turns more rock orientated later. Time to pretend - has a psychedelic intro, synthy and with simply catchy pop melodies. The synth does sound very cheesy at times (so maybe this was the other song which initially put me off) but then becomes droning later on. The sound has a brushed metal quality to it, if that makes any sense. Lyrics are bleakly cynical and the drumming is solid, yet again. Weekend wars - very nice sound quality to this song. Sounds like a semi-accoustic steel string guitar is uses, as well as the piano. Bass guitar is quite nice at times, and the singer brings a Mick Jagger quality to his vocals. Song gets synthy later. 4th dimensional transition - on second listen, this song grew on me. Has an interesting sounding synth beat. Texture like that of INXS' "Devil inside". Lyrics are of a poetic sort, and the keyboards tinkle at times and other times sound synthy. The rest: Electric feel - this song is more accessible on the cd than when I tuned out listening to it on video shows. It's bassy and sort of a slowed down disco song. A rhythm based song, driven by a very funky bass riff. An organ or some such plays a melody on this song. The youth - has a nice xylophone type sound to it, and the strings sound nice too. Seems to be some unintended distortion in this song. The synth throbs later on in this song. Lyrics become repetitive at the end. Of moons, birds & monsters - has a Hendrix like "Watchtower" guitar bit in the middle of the song, and the instrumental towards the end reminds me of the intro to The Police's "Synchronicity II". The handshake - has an organ type intro and some more left-field lyrics from the singer. Features accoustic strumming on the guitar too, and a catchy whistling outro. Future reflections - has a brassy intro but then becomes genteel. I like the sensual, poetic start to the song. Goes synth rock at the end of the song. Overall, a good album for its diversity...this pony has more than one trick. If you like this album, you may want to check out popsters The Dandy Warhols...albums like "13 tales" and "Come down", which I've reviewed here. Or cut and paste dance pop/rock band The Rogue Traders' "Here comes the drums", which I've also reviewed here.

One of my favorite CDs ever.
I really love this CD. All the songs are catchy, upbeat, and a teeny tiny little bit trippy. I find myself randomly getting songs stuck in my head in the middle of the day. It is everything I expected and wanted. I can listen to this over and over again without getting tired of the songs. I love it.

Different For the Mainstream, Though Not Too Far From Home
MGMT managed to trip their way to the radio, each single released along the way details their urge for 'experimentation'. Much of the material present on the album isn't for say overproduced, though others will fight to their death to tell you it is. Production wise it's as if this is what they were keying in on. Electric Feel's heavily reverberated steel drums don't pummel your mind, they spin it. When your mind stops spinning you are submerged into another nostalgic water line (we'll call this the next track). If it sounded 'real' or any drier the one two punch wouldn't work for them. their music is one thing, but the delivery is the echoes, synths, and flickering sounds. Imagine a fishing reel, toss the line out, you see the line but it's now distorted from the water. No different then this music and the sound. On this album you'll find a load of layers, hazy muffles, pinched vocals, and more trippy effects then the kid with the Spencers line of lighting effects. Fillers seem apparent first listen (everything that's not a single in this case), they do indeed grow on you. These are the mellow flavor tracks, you can spot them by their ambitiousness. They travel all over the map and on occasion return to remind you the song hasn't ended. While not bad they don't have the finesse needed to make them stand out, no melodic hook strong enough to be on par with the singles. They good background music, and are good if you like dancing when no ones looking. Aside from the hipster appeal they really aren't bad at what they do. Yes in the indie culture many groups play around with electronics, have a cult fanbase etc, but MGMT make it clear right off the bat who/what they are. They aren't the next big thing, they aren't Animal Collective, nor are they as accessible to older psychedelic acts they get lumped with...they are some kids who enjoy 'experimentation' and the thoughtful idea of playing with ones past. I own the vinyl copy, equipped with the ever so apparent 'theme of illusions' from the hypnotic picture sleeve to the inner MP3 code. Some people hop onto the idea vinyl is superior, yes many times an old analog recording defeats its digital semi-counterpart (notice not counterpart), but with most new music vinyl isn't in mind for its quality but for its recent collectible nature. Yes you may still find some gems (Stan Ricker still works hard for vinyl releases), keep this in mind though the CD equivalent doesn't sound very different at all. The extra bass many speak of is probably since their turn table is plugged into the phono input. Sometimes we luck out though and a group makes sure the vinyl release does indeed sound better, even when unmentioned. So we gamble for sound quality, or just accept the aesthetics vinyl brings to the table. This album doesn't take a plunder if the quality is degraded so much as the production as mentioned earlier is glossy but was made that way. The vinyl copy is just one record, five tracks on each side. As mentioned with the orange hype sticker on the shrink wrap (aside from the hits) this copy is 'enhanced' with a free MP3 code on the inside. The MP3 is fine, yes it sounds tinnier but the sound quality AGAIN isn't the big deal on the album so much as the odd production (which AGAIN works well for this album). There is no normal insert; the backside of the picture sleeve takes care of the lyrics and other notes. At the end of the day MGMT offer a relaxing album, where production isn't in your face, the songs aren't too long, and the arrangements are intriguing upon further listens. The vinyl copy offers you a readily available MP3 code, and remains as a one record package (not too much flipping to break the mood).