Oracular Spectacular

by

MGMT

Edit

I don't know who the guy is that wrote the editorial review for this album, but he is definitely out to lunch...

I never heard of this band, but I saw the album in my local record store and was intrigued by the cover art. When I arrived home, I immediately went to Amazon.com and listened to some snippets of the songs. They sounded good, but it's hard to get a feel for an entire album just by listening to 30 second clips. So I went ahead and bought the album.

I gave it a once-through. Then a second-through. Then a third-through... I've been listening to this album for about 5 days in a row now and it just gets better every time. The editorial reviewer complained about the variety on the album, but I believe that's one of the strengths. There's definitely something for everyone in this album.

I listen to a lot of indie-rock and this is definitely one of the top albums that has come out in the last few years. I rank it up there with Boxer by The National, Neon Bible by the Arcade Fire, and 23 by Blonde Redhead to name a few. Suffice it to say that this album is definitely in good company.

Now I know this album was released on Columbia, which means it's not necessarily "Indie"... But it was definitely crafted with the indie crowd in mind. It succeeds on many levels and it does so with flying colors.

I've heard complaints about the "overproduction" of this album, but that doesn't bother me. After all, overproduction has a long tradition in rock going all the way back to Phil Spector. Many of the "progressive rock" bands, like Yes and the Moody Blues, specialized in multi-layered opuses. Even today there are bands that are heirs apparent to that style, like Flaming Lips, Polyphonis Spree, and Arcade Fire. This band does "overproduction" quite well, and they definitely put across the image of a neo-hippie, hedonistic lifestyle. Just watch their hyper-psychedelic video of "Time to Pretend" and you'll know where their heads are at, as they used to say back in the `60's. That leadoff track gets the album off to a joyous start, and even if you don't subscribe to the drug-culture lifestyle they seem to espouse (sardonically or otherwise - this song is probably one of the factors that earned them an "explicit lyrics" label), you have to admit it's a fun and freewheeling track. In fact, there's a lot of bohemian fun and loose song structure throughout this album, infused with some often "retro" engineering tricks. Another standout track is "Electric Feel", where they lay down one of the funkiest '70's-style grooves I've heard in some time. The energy level seems to flag a little in the latter half, but overall it's an enjoyable, if rather lightweight album, the kind you'll like to play on your car stereo on a warm spring day with the windows down.