Thursday, March 13, 2008

As summer draws closer, the nights grow shorter and hotter, and Lincoln wakes from its winter slumber; here's another fabulous update from Joe Mac on everyones new favorite band, MGMT.


Hailing from as far away as Connecticut, MGMT are an exotic prospect. The band, made up of Andrew Vanwyngarden and Ben Goldwasser, recently performed their single `Time to Pretend` on the David Letterman Show whilst dressed in space-age capes, and would probably like you to believe that they come from the Milky Way. An unofficial website describes their sound as “an enigmatic and prophetic collection of hallucinatory sounds and hook-riddled pop tones for the new millennium.” Though this may sound baffling and extravagant, it’s not all that far from the truth. It’s clear, after listening to just a few of their tracks, that MGMT share a similar aura of mysticism to that which made Klaxons so appealing to many.

Weekend Wars boasts an intro full of lyrics recalling “quivering beasts” and “evil ashore”, sung by … in an awesome David Bowie style. Grandeur suits MGMT very well, as echoes ring through the glam-rock swathes of melody. Imagine Rocky Horror set in a school yard, and you’re not far off. The song cries “epic” and is definitely a highlight.

It’s clear that the group have really put a lot of thought into their music, and this is a good thing, though sometimes they risk sounding a bit too cold and calculated. That’s not to say that there’s oodles of fun to be had in songs like Electric Feel, which comes on strong like the Bee-Gees underwater. “Enjoy yourself, take only what you need from it” they sing on Kids. Perhaps they’re right and you should just try and lose yourself in the preposterous synthesiser and the skittering sound of SNES melodies and Casio-inspired rhythms. It’s like if the Scissor Sisters got maudlin and turned themselves into a computer game. MGMT make technicolour music, grounded in post-apocalyptic flights of fancy. If that’s your bag, then check them out.

Debut full length album, `Oracular Spectacular`, is out now on Columbia Records, and they are currently touring the US with Yeasayer.

[MP3] MGMT - Weekend Wars - Buy here.
[VIDEO] MGMT - Time To Pretend (high resolution version)
[MYSPACE] MGMT on myspace.
[WEBSITE] Retina-burning MGMT website.