Album Review: MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

As my last post on last.fm mentioned, I have been discovering several new artists lately. One of the newly discovered bands that has caught my attention is MGMT. The band is out there in terms of sound, but their first album is original and entertaining enough to warrant further inspection.

MGMT’s debut full-length album, Oracular Spectacular, is very difficult to categorize. Some tracks could be considered pop, others funk, and some are seemingly influenced by disco. The one unifying factor is that the band is different, and when it comes to music a unique sound is always something that intrigues me. The two frontmen, Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden, are no strangers to sound either. Both were studying music at Wesleyan University where they met to form the band.

The first track on their creation is a great picture as to their attitude towards music. “Time to Pretend” is a distorted piece of genius that pokes fun at the classic view of rock stars. They talk about their destiny as musicians being drugs and supermodel women, but it is all just a pretend form of real life.

In a way this song is a microcosm of the band itself. They did not set out to live this dream, but instead set out to make fun of it. As they did this, it turned out that people were fans of their music not knowing its intentions. From what I have read about MGMT, they do not take anything seriously. It is almost as they are aware of the “pretend” nature of it all. When asked by Columbia records for a list of producers they would want to work with, their respone was, “Prince, Barack Obama, Nigel Godrich and ‘Not Sheryl Crow.’” (source)

But rather than waxing philosophical about their music’s intelligence, I should discuss the actual musical quality of the album. After “Time to Pretend” the anthem-esque “Weekend Wars” is a taste of several styles, all maintaining the strange, other-worldly feel of the album. The synth that dominates the latter half of the song belongs in music from decades ago, but fits so perfectly in this retro-inspired album. “Youth” is an equally retro sounding track. I think that one of the major factors that makes the album so great is its time-bending creation of an old style. It is new age eighties but at the same time something completely fresh.

Sitting at track four is “Electric Feel.” This disco/funk, high-voice throwback is arguably the best song musically on the disc. I am fairly sure the lyrics are meaningless, but it does not matter in the least. This is a prime example of the new and retro blend I am trying to express. After the excellent “Kids” the album hits its low point at “4th Dimensional Transition.” It is not necessarily bad, but it is definitely the worst available here.

Spectacular quickly redeems itself with “Pieces of What.” It is a raw, acoustic track that brings a change of pace that works very well. “Of Moons, Birds, and Monsters” is probably my favorite song on the album. It could be the tambourine. It could be the quick, falsetto chorus. It is definitely the breakdown for the last two minutes, at least in part. It reminds me of an exploratory rock segment that Pink Floyd would do. No matter what else it might be, it is amazing.

The somewhat short forty-minute runtime closes out with “Handshake” and “Future Reflections.” They are not as exceptional as “Of Moons, Birds, and Monsters”, but are still solid. Handshake has a the very prominent throwback synth again, always a plus. I think every track on Spectacular is quality, and only one is a slight dip.

As you can guess I thoroughly enjoyed this album. It was creative and fresh with a strong retro feel. It is a bit short, but I applaud the duo for releasing a ten-track album of quality than one packed with filler. I hope to see what else they have in store for the future, but MGMT has set the bar fairly high. If you want to try something new and are not afraid to venture into music that initially sounds weird, I would recommend checking them out. You can listen to several full tracks on last.fm.