Psychedelic two piece MGMT are back with their self-titled ‘we’re coming off hiatus,’ 10 track album – and what a daring comeback it is. The album glows with experimentation, admirable as the band seem to have rediscovered their mojo.
First track Alien Days is incredibly trippy. With its mixture of male and female vocals and the simple guitar and drum backdrop that it maintains, it makes for an extremely Beatles-esque piece of music. Although it does sound slightly straightforward, mimicking the sounds of their earlier tracks.
As you delve deeper into the album you begin to realise how daring MGMT have actually been within the production of this. Wanting to obviously shake off their generic indie pop roots, they seem to have opted for a more medley of different sounds and experimentations that have clearly worked in their favour.
Your Life is a Lie is a mesh of drum beats, thrash guitars and quick, sharp lyrics which gives the entire track a more industrial feel to it. Plenty of Girls in the Sea is a crooning, stereotypical track of love and setting yourself free but it still keeps in touch with the industrial edge of the previous tracks. However, even though the album flows smoothly from one song to another, it becomes harder towards the end to point out the individualism in each sound which is one down point of an otherwise brilliant album.
Ending song An Orphan of Fortune holds a long introduction followed by a somewhat whiney and slow ending which is a bit of a let-down considering the rest of the album is so in your face thrashy that it screams individualism. This song just sounds like every other generic indie song that is out on the market at the moment.
All in all, MGMT new self-titled album is well worth a listen. It has the right balance between being straightforward and being something out of the ordinary. It’s gloomy and psychedelic all at the same time and a treat for the ears.
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