MGMT – MGMT (Album Review)

What started out as two freshmen art students attending Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut has somehow evolved into a genre-breaking phenomenon in the music industry in just a little under a decade. Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden started experimenting with a new sound in the early 2000’s. This sound included synthesizers and backing vocals. The two called themselves “The Management”, but we know them today as MGMT. After graduating college, MGMT went on to release their first EP, Time to Pretend (2005), before being signed to Columbia Records to release their debut album, Oracle Spectacular (2007). This album not only did well in the United States, but also went platinum in other parts of the world like Australia, the U.K, and even Ireland. They followed up their successes with another album release with Congratulations (2010). With this release, they continued to gain more feedback that is positive and earned them a number 2 spot on the Billboard chart. Now after almost being a band for a decade, MGMT is here with more music in their newest album aptly titled, MGMT.

MGMT begins with a quirky track, “Alien Days”, which features actual child voices, as they seem to tell an eerie tale. The track doesn’t really sound like it’s going to turn into a song anytime soon, when suddenly a background beat starts up and the synthesizers make themselves heard. Before our ears, this strange and dark melody starts to become psychedelic sounding as the track quite literally takes you to another planet. “Cool Song No. 2” needs no introduction. From the second it starts, an interesting sound filled with bongos, tambourines, and of course synthesizers, begins to stream giving off a jungle-like sound. The musicality is so intense, that it is a little hard to follow the much quieter vocals. MGMT, however, is somehow able to transcribe a story without the lyrics being fully decipherable. They achieve this through their uncanny ability to speak through the sound of music.

“Mystery Disease” seems to be a little more commercial sounding than the previous two tracks on MGMT. The musicality is less bizarre, the singing has a lot more of a presence, and the overall sound is addictive. While the backing track is a little repetitive, the song never really becomes boring. The lyrics are so enticing that the listeners almost invest themselves into the song. Such is the case with the follow-up track, “Introspection.” This song could potentially do well on radio, especially because it has a more upbeat quality to it.

“Your Life is a Lie” is hands down the strongest track on the entire album both musically and vocally and it seems to play the role as the turning point in the album. This is a little ironic because it makes the shortest track on MGMT at only two minutes. However, even in such a short time span, the song follows through effortlessly. The lyrics and musicality gives the audience the impression that the singer doubts himself and that this song is his innermost thoughts. The singer’s doubts are so strong that they seem to be haunting him, which is likely why the track exhibits so much repetition in both the sound and writing of the song.

At this point of the album, things begin to slow down as the peculiarity level begins to rise. MGMT has never been a band to fit any kind of mold and they couldn’t stay more true to themselves than with this second half of MGMT. “A Good Sadness” begins with a minute-long instrumental introduction. Once the lyrics finally kick in, the synthesizers begin to make their comeback, as well. This is another very cosmic-sounding track for the band, but this time in a more laid-back fashion. Even through the peculiar sounds, there is still a presence of sadness felt in the song. “Astro-Mancy” and “I Love You Too, Death” carry a very similar theme continuing the laid back, psychedelic and somber atmosphere.

“Plenty of Girls In the Sea” takes on a new sound all together. Having an almost The Smiths sounding inspiration with a cosmic twist, this song quickly becomes one of the most memorable on the album. Somehow the unusual cosmic sounds seem to be in congruence with the track and they don’t even sound that obscure to the ear; in fact, they seem to make the song that much stronger. The closing track, “An Orphan of Fortune” is another song with a full instrumental intro filled with synthetics. Even once the drumbeat kicks in, the song continues to retain it‘s easygoing nature. After such a powerful track playing previously, this becomes a little bit of calmness for listeners and relaxing way to end an album with so much diversity and rebellion.

When you have a unique sound like the members of MGMT, it can sometimes be hard to make noticeable changes and progression musically. However, with this most recent album, MGMT, the band has found a way to voice their maturity while still staying true to the roots that brought them to where they are today. MGMT has started a new era for the band and it literally has a track to offer to any one human being, no matter what their music interest may be. For that, Cryptic Rock gives MGMT 4 out of 5 stars.

Columbia

Written by Vanessa Carlucci