Ok so it\u2019s probably a tad pointless reviewing this album after its well-documented internet leak over a month ago, but some of us are keen to remain professional and for a potential new prog album, I\u2019m always happy to oblige. Except it\u2019s not really prog, is it? I\u2019d sum it up as a reckless, phantasmagorical journey into psychedelic rock, taking in flute solos, tuba solos and all manner of wacky instrumentation in MGMT\u2019s singular pursuit of, er little more than taking the p**s, it seems.<\/p>\n
By now you\u2019ll know that MGMT\u2019s Congratulations is the complete antithesis to everything their debut album Oracular Spectacular was. There\u2019s an almost extreme rejection of anything remotely commercial, which is perhaps best epitomised by the sprawling twelve-minute epic Siberian Breaks. I\u2019ve nothing against 12, 20, even 40 minute tracks if they work. Sadly, I\u2019m not so sure this does. It\u2019s pleasant enough to listen to as it can\u2019t be denied that VanWyngarden and Goldwasser (the best surnames in rock, surely?) are both masters of melody and composition. But there\u2019s little that\u2019s groundbreaking here.<\/p>\n
There are definite moments of achievement on Congratulations. The whole album has echoes of the superbly smooth, classically French production values expounded by Air on their critically acclaimed album 10,000 HZ Legend, giving us clear reassurance that if MGMT are off their rocker, they haven\u2019t lost their wits completely.<\/p>\n
Moments like the ludicrously self-indulgent caterwauling on Lady Dada\u2019s Nightmare just leave you confused. Am I meant to like this? Or should I be smiling wryly at MGMT\u2019s comical tinkering with leftfield music genres?
\n– Michelle Dhillon<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\nOpening track It\u2019s Working storms into play with crashing drums and rhetorical questions aplenty – \u201cHow will I know if it\u2019s working right?\u201d coos a tripped-out VanWyngarden while synths schizophrenically meander and bounce all around him. Song For Dan Treacy continues along this vibe, while Brian Eno, even with it\u2019s daft lyrics, is admittedly catchy.<\/p>\n
In some ways, you have to admire them for wholeheartedly living up to the rock-star hype-machine myth by being the tinkers they\u2019re ruthlessly deconstructing. But some moments, like the ludicrously self-indulgent caterwauling on Lady Dada\u2019s Nightmare, just leave you confused. Am I meant to like this? Or should I be smiling wryly at MGMT\u2019s comical tinkering with leftfield music genres?<\/p>\n
Congratulations will definitely test the loyalty of their fanbase to the extreme but to be fair, MGMT have always worn their psychedelic rock influences firmly on their bell-bottomed sleeves so a hippy-trippy excursion such as this should really come as no surprise. It will be a huge shock to anyone expecting power-pop melodies and cracking electro hooks though. I wonder what their record label Columbia honestly think of it. And whose decision it was not to release any singles. How\u2019s that for a wry dig?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ok so it\u2019s probably a tad pointless reviewing this album after its well-documented internet leak over a month ago, but some of us are keen to remain professional and for a potential new prog album, I\u2019m always happy to oblige. Except it\u2019s not really prog, is it? I\u2019d sum it up as a reckless, phantasmagorical journey into psychedelic rock,
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