It has now been well documented among music reviews that Congratulations, the second album by MGMT, has no obvious singles and will come as a shock to those who bought their hugely successful, chart-focused debut Oracular Spectacular.
However, this does not mean Congratulations is a bad album. Far from it and in some respects its better than the band’s debut.
Yes, this second album is less catchy than Oracular hits like ‘Time To Pretend’ and ‘Kids’ but what Congratulations offers instead is a more stripped back, somehow more genuine sounding album full of psychedelic influences and simple melodies.
Opener ‘It’s working’ is one of the best tracks, very early Pink Floyd. ‘Song for Dan Treacey’ keeps this 1960s feel, compete with whirly gig organ and echoed vocals, like The Kinks at times.
The 12- minute ‘Siberian Breaks’ is earwax-meltingly long, but fitting, it kind of washes over you and features some lovely Byrds-esque guitar parts.
Only two real duds stand out. The boring instrumental ‘Lady Da Da’s Nightmare’ is plain ropey, and ‘Brian Eno’ is just a mess. In the main though this change of direction suits them.
I also think that the lack of singles tag is unfair. Title track ‘Congratulations’ is actually pretty catchy, admittedly unlikely to be a dance floor hit but is the one I’m playing more often. ‘Flash Delirium’, is another, which has been released as the first single from the album, proving that there are singles to be mined from this supposed psychedelic oddity.
Maybe MGMT are getting something out of their system and will be back to churning out ‘Time to Pretend’ style hits? Maybe this is the real MGMT? Who knows how it’ll pan out, but for now fans of psychedelia and those like us at Neonfiller that enjoy albums by the likes of The Dukes of Stratosphear will love this.
7.5/10
by Joe Lepper, Apr 2010
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