MGMT – Congratulations
(Columbia)
Words: Kevin Fitzgerald
Listening to MGMT’s new album Congratulations, I can’t help but hope that the duo is still tinkering with, mixing, and remastering the nine-song collection. The songs come off as raw and unfinished-sounding, as nearly every song seems to either be lacking a layer or awkwardly melded together. The clean and catchy keyboard melodies that dominated “Kids” and “Time to Pretend” of MGMT’s first full-length album Oracular Spectacular are largely gone; replaced by soft-strummed acoustic melodies. Congratulations has little of the pop-rock power of Spectacular, abandoning the largely-loved, disco-like style of “Electric Feel” instead going with a mellow soft-spoken sound epitomized in Congratulations’ fifth song “I Found A Whistle.
As I listened to the album I kept waiting song after song for that hit, only to be disappointed song after song with more reserved melodies. “Flash Delirium,” Congratulations’ first released single departs a bit from the rest of the lighter, blander tracks. However, where the other songs lack in pop and variation, “Delirium” overdoes it a bit, combining shaky and overly present voice-distortion with multiple track overlays and an airy flute solo. I am at once both overwhelmed and underwhelmed by the release. And while the album does indeed deserve the criticism, I can’t help but feel I do MGMT a disservice. Maybe I’m looking too much for a Spectacular repeat. Maybe MGMT’s new sound isn’t bland but, on the contrary, bold and new. The album certainly deserves merit, as MGMT didn’t attempt to merely replicate the success of their first album. They faced the fear of the sophomore slump head-on, attempting to offer listeners an unmistakably new “MGMT” sound.
And the album truly does have its successes. The high point occurs in the albums dream-like ballad “Siberian Banks.” The song glides between melodies and movements with playfulness and repose. And isn’t it great that the album’s most impressive and catchy song is a full twelve minutes long? The song alternates between salsa-like, flowing rhythms and sing-songy breaks. While I doubt the twelve-minute bit will garner itself a single release, the song is no doubt the best of the album. The album’s ebullient finale, aptly sharing its name with the album title, offers similar hit-potential with its catchy rhythm and looping bass line. Both songs offer an easy listen that I wish was present in the rest of the album. While much of the album is lacking, these two songs offer a redeeming recompense.
In the end those are the only two tracks that deserve any “congratulations” the album’s authors bestowed upon it. And I still can’t help but hopelessly wait for the zaniness and power-pop sound with which Oracular Spectacular was comprised.
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