If you are picking up Congratulations with high hopes that it will be jam-packed with electro-pop singles that you and your girlfriends can chant along to, or you just can’t wait for the Justice remix, I regret to inform you that you are out of luck. The second album from the Management (or MGMT) is a supremely psychedelic, progressively glamorous rock extravaganza, with not one attempt to recreate the success of what gave them such immense radio play.
I must admit that I was taken aback by this latest outing by these Wesleyan hipsters. But then I reminisced about listening to Oracular Spectacular for the first time and realized I should have seen this coming. MGMT’s sound got completely mislabeled due to the success of singles “Time to Pretend,” “Kids” and “Electric Feel.” These three songs stand out as notable exceptions on their debut. Lest we forget that Oracular… was filled with songs like “4th Dimensional Transition” and “Future Reflections” – for the most part, straight-away psych-pop.
Congratulations is a continuation of these musical trends. Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden pack all of their psychedelic ambitions into the record, the result being the audio equivalent of a circus. “It’s Working,” the ecstasy-fueled, harpsichord-tinged opener, is an upbeat and joyous piece that evokes the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. “Flash Delirium” follows suit, with fuzzed out basses and progressive rock chants, ending precisely on a climax that might blow a lobe or two.
Alongside these songs are gentle ballads like “Someone’s Missing,” and “I Found a Whistle,” glamorous folk rock like the Bowie-esque “Congratulations, and the twelve-minute marathon “Siberian Breaks.” It’s hard to believe that there are only nine songs on this album given the amount of ideas dripping from it. One can’t deny the awesome journey this record provides, although it might seem unfocused at times.
It seems that MGMT has used their fame (that they sarcastically sang about on “Time to Pretend”) to do whatever the hell they wanted, and they capitalized on the pressure of the “sophomore curse.” Inspired by pioneers such as Brian Eno and Television Personalities (check the name drops on the LP), these neo psychedelic scenesters are striving for greatness in a very interesting way. While they will probably alienate a large chunk of their fan base with the absence of any kind of breakthrough single, Congratulations is definitely a better record than their debut, and absolutely worth a listen or five.
Rating: 3 New Athletic Camels.
