MGMT

Oracular Spectacular

October 30, 2008

By Mr. Marlowe

**** / ****

Released 2008

One of the most interesting releases of 2008 is MGMT’s Oracular Spectacular. The product of early-twenty something New York City transplants, Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden (and producer Dave Fridman), Oracular Spectacular is a dazzling musical chameleon that slithers from song to song mimicking its impeccable influences while perpetrating a modern shimmer.

The album is unquestionably frontloaded, exploding out of the gate before being weighed down by a few moments of over thought and overdone mystical pretension. But for the few moments that don’t work, Oracular Spectacular’s best moments are so good it hardly matters.

Time to Pretend is the most cerebral live for the moment tune since The Strokes lit up the new millennium with Last Nite. Featuring distorted guitars and shimmering synthesizers, Time to Pretend is a cautionary warning about the excesses of the rock n’ roll lifestyle with a dash of youthful nostalgia that is wise beyond its years. It is also the freshest, most original tune in ages. “Yeah, I’ll miss the boredom and the freedom and the time spent alone… we’re fated to pretend.” Pure genius.

Then there’s Kids, another unique effort, the second best track on the album, and its most modern. An electronic exercise in adding substance to synthesized beats, the tune will have you dancing, endlessly humming the bass line, and pondering the clever word play. “Control yourself. Take only what you need from them. A family of trees wanting to be haunted.” I’m not sure how or where these dudes come up with their lyrics but no doubt they are astounding.

Outside this pair of stunning and original successes is a series of clever odes to past.

Mott the Hoople’s All the Young Dudes finds its modern incarnation in The Youth. No doubt David Bowie’s magical string pulling is the template producer Dave Fridman reaches for in transforming this MGMT original into a familiar yet fascinatingly contemporary piece. Guitar reverb, dramatic crooning, and all manner of delay gymnastics are on full display making this stunning ballad an extremely complicated and layered song that is as catchy as it is clever.

The Led Zeppelin unplugged mysticism of Weekend Wars is another treat, as is the Prince meets Jamiroquai Electric Feel. And let’s not forget MGMT’s perfect The Replacements’ impersonation, Pieces of What. My God, Paul Westerberg might actually have a legitimate case for sound infringement with this one; it’s that similar and that good.

The weak parts of the album arrive when some of the songs dip into the dramatic-ridiculous (4th Dimension Transition, the Pink Floydish The Handshake, and the willfully Belle and Sebastian overblown Of Moons, Birds, and Monsters are the prime culprits). Still, these disappointments aren’t for lack of trying and even in failure each has its own interesting moment, especially the cool Of Moons… guitar solo. On the whole, however, I just couldn’t get into them.

No matter its few shortcomings, Oracular Spectacular is a great mix of ‘70s and ‘80s high musical watermarks updated for a modern generation. At the end of the day, taking the old and making it new is half the battle in producing good music. The other half is making songs that entertain beyond the initial piquing of interest. In both regards, Oracular Spectacular succeeds with flying colors. Sure, we’ve sort of heard these songs before, but MGMT’s versions make us see them in a brand new 21^st century light as we listen to them over and over and over again while still craving more. A little something for everyone, Oracular Spectacular is one of the best albums of 2008.

Best Songs: Tme to Pretend, Kids, Electric Feel, The Youth