Who am I to tell you how to feel about something as subjective as music. Go ahead: like what you like and hate what you hate.
Except with MGMT. If you don’t love MGMT you’re objectively wrong.
Ben Goldwasser & Andrew VanWyngarden have repeatedly delivered over the past 15 years with ORACULAR SPECTACULAR, their Technicolor explosion of a debut, CONGRATULATIONS: the once under-appreciated classic that has since found its much deserved respect, MGMT: a dense and paranoid journey that is their current underrated work, and LITTLE DARK AGE: a mutated synth pop collection that many described as a return to form.
But what form are they returning to? As their website URL asks: WHO IS MGMT?
They are nice, funny, and extremely thoughtful guys, but you would never know they're the architects of some of the most uncompromising music of the 21st century, with a perfect track record and without a misstep after nearly 20 years.
This leads us to MGMT’s 5th album: LOSS OF LIFE. They did it again! They’re now 5/5 which gets you into virtually any HOF. It’s a slice of magic that fits perfectly into the MGMT oeuvre and might be their best to date. Andrew and Ben themselves have described it as “SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE directed by Paul Schrader”.
But the game of “this meets that” might not work when it comes to MGMT. All you need to say about an MGMT record is “This is an MGMT record” and the promise and potential is guaranteed to pay out like a slot machine.
Tom Scharpling
2023
