MGMT: Oracular Spectacular Album Review
Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden: New Psychedlic Indie Rockers
Feb 1, 2009
MGMT (Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden) are from Brooklyn, New York, USA. They were previously known as The Management, and it was under this name that they released the 2005 album Climbing to New Lows. But it wasn’t until 2008’s Oracular Spectacular (the album was released digitally in October 2007) that the band were introduced to a much wider audience, and began to gain the attention and respect they deserved.
MGMT Help Rescue Popular Music
The first half of this decade was a bleak time for popular music, and the medium left many fans hanging on in frustration, desperately hoping for something that was not just pretty good, but genuinely amazing. With a few exceptions, there was a shortage of great new talent on the scene. Many bands, at least the ones lucky enough to have been given a chance to reach a mass audience, were mediocre and deliberately radio-friendly, producing music they thought would get a particular reaction, rather than creating music from the heart.
Then came the dawn of a new musical era and with it MGMT, who reminded everybody just how marvelous today’s music makers could be.
Oracular Spectacular: a New Breed of Psychedelics
Oracular Spectacular is a seemingly effortless masterpiece. It delves into the mind and spirit and touches areas seldom explored today, with its raw lyrics and spacey sounds.
The album is euphoric, even in parts when it is slightly unsettling. It’s unpredictable and every track has a life and force of its own, meaning MGMT cannot be described with reference to just one song.
Album opener and single “Time to Pretend” is a lyrical fantasy of the highs and excesses of the rock star dream, with the token accidental death – “We’ll choke on our vomit, and that will be the end. We’re fated to pretend.” The song seems to be a poke at the clichés of rock ‘n’ roll and how fame can be achieved a lot easier these days, leaving the fantasy lost and acts such as MGMT “…fated to pretend.” The song also sounds like a bitter-sweet goodbye to more innocent times, such as childhood, with lyrics like, "I'll miss the playground, and the animals, and digging up worms."
The song “Weekend Wars” combines projected, David Bowie-style vocals with a laidback acoustic guitar to create a perfect festival sing-along.
“The Youth” is eerie, yet comforting, and boasts some of the most heartfelt lyrics on the album: “In a couple of years, tides have turned from boos to cheers. And in spite of the weather, we can learn to make it together.”
Electro, Funk, Psychedelia... and a Unique MGMT Trademark Sound
The most appealing factor of this album is that its place in music history is timeless. Indeed, the song “4th Dimensional Transition”, track six on Oracular Spectacular, is, like much of the album, reminiscent of early Pink Floyd, and other Dave Gilmour work, with its epic atmosphere, its rise and shift in mood, the dynamics of each instrument and the strength to which they are used, and its almost fateful feel.
But that isn’t to say MGMT lack originality. The band have a distinctive touch and their music sounds like nothing else available at the moment, fusing an exquisite blend of classic indie, psychedelia, funk, glam-rock, progressive-rock, and that extra special something that can't quite be pinpointed, as is the case with all the greats - their very own musical signature.
The album is one long hypnotic musical that inspires visions and enriches the soul. It is tribal, primitive, and futuristic all at the same time. It’s a grand example that there is no excuse for second-rate indie and rock music. MGMT have set a high standard, and they have proved confidently that they are very skilled musicians and creators. And that’s a rare thing to be able to say with sincerity in today’s popular music scene.
MGMT Bring Faith in New Music
It’s refreshing to know that the rock genre hasn’t lost its way completely. Oracular... epitomises a newfound faith in that spectrum, and it proves there are no limits to musical sound and generating emotions through it. Yes, there are always great bands creating great music out there somewhere, but the world doesn’t always take notice. Thankfully, this time, it did.
MGMT have showed exceptional talent and their album, Oracular Spectacular, is an outstanding production. The album has received critical acclaim and gained MGMT a following on both sides of the Atlantic.
2009. New Album? The Future for MGMT
Big things are happening for MGMT as the world stands up and applauds them. Their follow-up album to Oracular Spectacular is rumored to be entitled Congratulations, with a 2009 release (all details still to be confirmed).
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