MGMT’s Kids is legitimately one of the most accomplished, colourful, lavish electro-pop anthems of the past 20 years. Reinventing the fluro themes of their hero and musical forefather David Bowie, the duo earned stratospheric success with the single and their debut LP, ‘Oracular Spectacular’, in 2007.
Two more albums - ‘Congratulations’ and ‘MGMT’ - then followed. Both felt like convoluted attempts at achieving a sound as electrifying as their debut, pushing them further from pop and into psychedelia. It seemed their guiding lights had dimmed.
Album four, ‘Little Dark Age’, reinstates Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser somewhere close to a happy medium.
This refreshing, luminous album layers their signature analogue keys and also succeeds in pushing them into even more expansive territories than before.
Co-produced by Chairlift's Patrick Wimberly and long-time collaborator Dave Fridmann, the record was under construction for some time. Other collaborators on the writing side include psych-pop stars Ariel Pink and Connan Mockasin.
What feels tangible on this album is the musicians’ shift in attitude. Previously the band created dance-floor-filling, mind-warping sound constellations. ‘Little Dark Age’ brings a more mature and progressive style into focus.
She Works Out Too Much, which opens the LP, is the most memorable song here. Offering up a salutary nod to more modern references, such as the pernicious world of online dating, MGMT suddenly feel more relevant and relatable. Dancing with the stars is fun, but millennials require references to phones and apps to relate to romance.
MGMT’s approach to reinvention can feel forced at points, though. Days That Got Away unravels like an out of control acid trip; a beautiful sunny day at a festival ruined by an unnecessary, complicated experience. Too many affectations and too much reverb clutters the rhythm and melody here, which is a shame.
But, elsewhere, there is gold. The title track feels like the opening scene from Drive and is a slow moving, sinister flash of absolute perfection. TSLAMP is another 10/10 moment as vocals are manipulated Pet Shop Boys-style and internal monologues bounce back and forth.
This is an album to explore in depth, requiring more than one listen. What can feel overly complex at times suddenly reveals its billowing beauty, like a rainbow after a storm. ‘Little Dark Age’ is an elegant and considered LP with flashes of absolute brilliance.
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