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album reviews

MGMT



Oracular Spectacular 6½ ( 2008 )
Time To Pretend / Weekend Wars / Youth / Electric Feel / Kids / 4th Dimensional Transition / Pieces Of What / Of Moons Birds And Monsters / Handshake / Future Reflections / Electric Feel

'Time To Pretend' has an addictive and clever sound, placing analogue synths down from the start into a digital world, taking in new-wave and electro along the way. The vocals are dreamy and mixed down enough to have appealed to indie fans circa 1993, pre Britpop. 'Time To Pretend' is the kind of initially incomprehensible tune with a blurry video MTV's '120 Minutes' would have played in its heyday. '4th Dimensional Transition' meanwhile presents some bang upto date IDM beats to underpin the guitar, the keyboards and the pacey, slightly nervous yet not unattractive vocals. Well, when the echo comes in placing the vocals down the bottom of Joe Meeks well and the dance-beats suddenly get louder, it becomes clear this band have lots of ideas and could well have a promising future. The song becomes modern psychedelia, truly modern yet also rooted in the past and rooted in so many influences, perhaps a little Spacemen 3 in there somewhere? '4th Dimensional Transition' sounds markedly different to 'Time To Pretend' and also to the other album highlight, 'Electric Feel'. 'Electric Feel' if it popped up in the background of almost any modern television show would have you pricking up your ears straining to hear the music above the actual content of the show. The slight eighties feel that 'Time To Pretend' hinted at is more prevailent here and the melodies are enough to give your kids a treat without ruining their appetite, and other such cliches.

So, with three semi-classics on their album, what do 'MGMT' decide to do? Well, to say the rest of the album doesn't live upto the potential shown by tracks such as '4th Dimensional Transition' is to serve disservice to the word uneven. 'Weekend Wars' for example is let down by weak vocals and weak vocal melodies, although the music hints at trippiness in places that might have been better served by a stronger song. Much of the supporting material on 'Oracular Spectacular' reveals nothing less than a band still trying to find themselves. The differing styles creates a somewhat schizophrenic album release and not really for the better. Ending on a positive note however, 'Kids' sounds a little like a Flaming Lips that remember how to write melodies, always a good thing.

Share Your Views?

Readers Comments Eddie W Yorks Very disappointing album. Lets hope the brilliant flashes of inspiration we've heard in 'Electric Feel' and 'Time To Pretend' weren't one offs. Matt Sheffield You should listen to this one a few times to get more in to it. Yes the singles are by far the best but there are other wonders to be had from this album if you keep listening. I do agree though that the 'album' songs are comparatively very weak.