MGMT "Oracular Spectacular" (2008)
On a couple of occasions over the years, I'd hear my friend playing these guys when I
was at his house. Each time I'd be like "oh this is cool, what is it?" Then I'd
hear them the next time and be like "oh this is cool, what is it".
This shows that (a) they must be good and (b) I'm a slow learner
sometimes.
The duo met at university and formed the band as a natural evolution of
just hanging out talking about music. Originally they performed and released some songs under
the name Management, until they were made aware
that another act was using that name, so shortened theirs to MGMT.
The band recorded their debut (as MGMT) with Flaming Lips producer Dave
Fridmann, which probably goes some way towards explaining the dreamy
psychedelic pop I find myself listening to.
"Weekend Wars" is a glorious slice of 3rd-wave psychedelic pop. "The Youth" follows in this vein and is kind of familiar to me on this listen so was maybe one of the ones I'd heard before. "Electric Feel"
I've heard plenty of times either in commercials or just through the
usual channels. "Electric Feel" has a weird 'if disco had still been
going strong in the 80s' kind of sound to it. You could dance to it,
but it's a bit lighter and synthier. Ditto (both on the sound, and
me recognising it) with the track "Kids".
"4th Dimensional Transition" takes you into more electronic, yet still
psychedelic territory. Album closer "Future Reflections" bares a
slight resemblance to the Dandy Warhols' "Welcome to the Monkey House"
album, though possibly that's just because they're both channelling an
80s sound through a 00s indie-pop sensibility.
