Customer Reviews
Familiar yet Strange 
2008-06-19
This band's sound is really retro yet entirely modern. I was so convinced that the song "Time To Pretend" was a cover when I heard it that I spent 20 minutes online trying to figure out who the original artist was. I just *knew* I'd heard it somewhere before. (It turns out that I had; it was on the season finale of "Gossip Girl".)
All of their songs have this odd vibe of being somehow familiar, even if you've never heard them before. Yet the band's interpretation of each song is fresh and different. It's one of those rewarding albums that makes for great background music when you don't feel like really paying attention to it, then proves to have a lot more substance than meets the ear when you do take the time to really listen to it. The lyrics are strange and wonderful, the music even more so.
I am a huge fan of Tori Amos and Spoon, and in an odd way, this band is like a cross between the two of them. I recommend it highly.
R U Kiddin Me!! There Awesome!! 
2008-06-17
I had the Honor and great pleasure to see MGMT at BFD 2008 and let me tell you they are freakin AWESOME!!! They have an amazing sound. Electric Feel is just a song of perfection...The rythem is very catchy and you can't help your self and wanna dance...Kids is another great song...Like I said I had the pleasure to see them in person and Andrew and Ben are Hot!!! I actually was up close and personal when he crowd surfed. That was one of the greatest moments of my life......I say buy this cd and it will not disappoint.
A New Band for a New Era 2008-06-09
Drenched in addictive hooks that marry Prince and The Flaming Lips in a union of space-funk and soul that somehow captures exactly the sound the band describes on their MySpace page-"surf jungle country"-Oracular delivers a sound that's as fresh in 2008 as Beck's was in 1994, leaping onto the scene with the same "we don't care" abandon that "Loser" brought to the biz back then. It's no accident that the album vaguely echoes The Flaming Lips. Oracular IS produced, after all, by David Fridmann, the captain at the console for many a Flaming Lips album. Roll Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots with some Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and you've got the narcotic sunrise of the mind that is Oracular Spectacular.
Apart from their music, though, what's refreshing about Ben and Andrew is their indifference to the punk-rock disdain for corporate influence that has itself become one of the cliches they expose, claiming instead to have "talked a lot about selling out as soon as possible" before anyone but their buddies knew who they were. Touché! Nonetheless, here's to hoping that next year's Grammy Awards completely ignore this masterpiece deserving of universal adoration, a neglect that has become a seal of approval for bands too good to be caught on TV with Brittney and Beyonce-and let's hope it stays that way, for the sake of both the band and their growing number of fans.
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Love it! 2008-06-04
Love it, love it, absolutely love it!!! I heard "Time to Pretend" on local radio station here in New York and had to buy the CD right away. No regrets.
Kaleidoscopic 2008-06-02
There's something about the youthful energy of MGMT's album "Oracular Spectacular" that makes me think of a person's college years. It's a time in a young person's life when they're experimenting, expanding their horizons, exploring different cultures and ideas, and trying to imagine what their adult life will be like. The album may not be the most consistent or polished of efforts, but it's playful, inventive and inspired. The vocals, lyrics and overall spacey-ness of "Oracular Spectacular" sometimes recall classic David Bowie. The multicultural, anything-goes production style has more in common with of-the-moment artists like M.I.A. or Hot Chip. Clearly this is a group that finds inspiration in music of both the past and the present, as well as different genres and cultures.
Overall, I'd say this album is a fresh and skillful debut by a promising new act.
MGMT. Buy it. Love it. 2008-06-29
Take a base of alternative quirkiness. Add a slight techno beat. Then some high pitched vocals. Next mix with a dash of funk. And top it off with some power pop, and viola! You have MGMT. I cannot reccomend this album highly enough. This New York based indie rock band is set to hit the big time.
The cd starts off with a bang hiting hard with the great track "Time to Pretend." And this is could be argued for as the highlight of the disc. But if you stop there, you are selling yourself short. "Electric Feel" almost reminds of you of a 70s disco. And "Pieces of What" is a perfect merge of radio hooks and rock n roll. Also not to be overlooked would be "The Handshake" and "Kids."
Some people compare them to Muse, and you can see the influence there. But the more you listen you realize MGMT are striking out into a style all their own. Great, great cd. Do yourself a favor. Pick it up. You'll be glad you did.
Now let's have some fun 2008-06-26
Putting a label on the debut album by MGMT is a toughie. They're sort of a synth-psychedelic-space-indie-noisepop band.
And they break an awful lot of rules in their debut album "Oracular Spectacular," a vibrant, colorful little album that sounds like a cascade of summer flowers. They have a few wrinkles yet to iron out, but their music has a unique and striking sound, and they obviously know how to craft solid pop music with a foot-tapping beat, and a slightly eerie sound.
It opens with squeaks, bubbling noises, and finally with a slow-building electric riff smothered in twisted synth. "I'm feelin' rough, I'm feelin' raw, I'm in the prime of my life/Let's make some music make some money find some models for wives... This is our decision to live fast and die young/We've got the vision, now let's have some fun..." the soft layered vocals intone.
Well, at least there's no pretense about plans for the future, even if it means "I'll miss my sister, miss my father, miss my dog and my home," and ends up with divorce, more models, and "We'll choke on our vomit and that will be the end/We were fated to pretend."
They slow down a little with the guitar-led, sparkling pop of "Weekend Wars," and the shimmering psychedelic echoes of the languid "The Youth" ("We could flood the streets/with love or light or heat/whatever!"). But then they happily speed back up again -- beat-heavy funky tunes, undulating playful synthpop, and rapid-pattering electronic psychedelica. Styles are jumbled seamlessly.
As the album's end approaches, the songs get even more complex, as if the band is learning the ropes as they go along. We have an acoustic-led ballad, a sly rippling pop melody, and a dancy, intimate-sounding finale -- not to mention the utterly sublime "Of Moons, Birds & Monsters," a deliriously beautiful psychpop melody strung with colourful synth, spacey sound effects, and guitars that chime like church bells.
"Oracular Spectacular" is the sound of a magnificently talented band that is still getting its bearings, and exploring the blended sound they've created. Most of the songs on this album are of good quality but not brilliant -- and then MGMT suddenly bursts forth in full-blown musical splendor, with some truly larger-than-life pop rippling with exquisite instrumentation.
Much of that instrumentation comes from the subtle percussion, and a series of guitars that can drive the melody forwards like a speeding car, then can suddenly turn into a mass of psychedelic blurs, murmurs and chimes. You can hear some handclaps and what sounds like kettle drums buried in there as well, plus the occasional bashed cymbals.
But the synth is nothing short of gorgeous, and it permeates every song in the album. Sometimes it's a chirp, tweak, squeak or electronic chime on the edges, but sometimes it's a sweep of truly exquisite shimmering sound. "The Handshake" sounds like it was recorded underwater at times.
Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden's soft voices are layered through most of the album, although occasionally one of them sings solo. It adds an otherworldly sound as their vibrant lyrics explore youthful revels, rock'n'roll, otherworldly transformations ("My liquid silver arms extended/These waves aren't far apart... I am fire, where's my form?") and who knows what else ("Why'd you cut holes in the face of the moon base?/Don't you know about the temperature change/In the cold black shadow?").
"Oracular Spectacular" lives up to its name -- outstanding music that only promises to become better, shimmering with colorful pop and boundless imagination.
If you like the Sleepy Jackson... 2008-06-23
...then these guys are for you. You can read through all the other reviews for details, but if you've already got Sleepy Jackson's Lovers and One was a Spider, etc., then just pick this up. Trust me, you'll like it.
Chaotic ...but interesting. They certainly have great potiential. 2008-06-23
It took me a while of listening to their CD to gain enough composure to write a review. The songs are somewhat chaotic and random, and it's quite hard to sum it up. It's pretty apparent that this band builds upon many different influences. The thing I love most about them is their use of electronica/synth. You don't see that much anymore in today's musical landscape, so it's a welcome surprise to hear it... and they use it very well. They use it for a psychedelic purpose which works in their favor for many songs. This group really does have the makings of a great band. They have all the pieces needed... but they still seem to be trying to find their identity somewhat, and trying to fit the pieces together. This makes for a very chaotic feel and lots of unstable crazy energy... a little too unstable for my tastes. If they were able to focus and make the songs a bit more cohesive... the results would be surely amazing. This album is still worth listening to, especially if you like bands like the Flaming Lips or 80's alternative bands in general. I look forward to their next album and seeing how their music evolves. Some of the lyrics in these songs are quite funny too.
I met these guys 2008-06-20
They were awesome. They bought me ice cream and then sang me a song. I saw their concert and they sang a song just for me.
