MGMT - Congratulations

MGMT have gave us the first taste from their much anticipated sophomore album "Congratulations", a track entitled “Flash Delirium”. It is an exciting, all-over-the-place track, starting off slowly, before erupting into into a mesh of groovy fun.

Meanwhile, another leaked track “Congratulations” is a slow tempo, relaxing ballad that is just peaceful for the summer. And do I hear some Chinese traditional instrument at the end of the track!?

These two tracks definitely make me curious to find out how the rest of the album will sound like. Can't hardly wait!

MGMT - Flash Delirium
MGMT - Congratulations

Time To Pretend

I stumbled across two covers of MGMT's Time To Pretend lately. It has been awhile since this summer anthem hit the dancefloor in 2008, so it was a bit of an odd song choice to cover at this moment. Kaiser Chiefs covered the song on Radio 1 Live Lounge, and Ricky Wilson changed some of the lyrics, it was pretty hilarious. Whereas Paul Dempsey's version is an acoustic one, nice and simple.

Kaiser Chiefs - Time To Pretend (MGMT cover)
Paul Dempsey - Time To Pretend (MGMT cover)

Trick or Treatz

Who is dressing up as Joker for Halloween this year? Everyone is! I have got a brilliant idea. Why not be Robert Downey Jr. being Kirk Lazarus being Sgt. Osiris. Not complicated at all.

No candy for you, come here and get some freaky tunes.

Metronomy - Trick or Treatz (Klaxons Remix)

The Mae Shi - Vampire Beats

Gary Jules - Mad World

The Automatic - Monster

Xiu Xiu - Brian The Vampire

MGMT - Of Moons, Birds & Monsters

Metanoia

Almost a year since the release of MGMT's much-loved debut Oracular Spectacular, the hype surrounding the band is still heating up. As much as I love the acclaimed album, I couldn't be listening to it for 12 months straight. I stumbled across something unheard of from the boys Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden that comes in the form of an EP named Metanoia which only consists a 13-minute track. MGMT does not dissapoint with Metanoia, it continues the mixing-of-genres trend in Oracular Spectacular. It opens with an acoustic, then when the piano kicks in, we hear a sound not unlike The Arcade Fire attempting a Queen before it maneuvers into a psychedelic number. I guess people in town (or the blogsphere) will still be talking about the Brooklyn psychedelic synth duo for quite awhile and I don't mind even a bit. 2008 is going to be the year of MGMT!

MGMT - Metanoia

-Sim-

Let's mourn

Readyset Glo is a bi-monthly indie disco night at Velvet Underground Singapore. Previous guests include Van She, Steve Aoki and the Ed-Banger crews. People were talking about Readyset Glo presents the Mystery Jets Live on 20th September. So I got all excited, thinking that there might be chances of it happening here in KL too, or at least a trip down south would not be a bad idea. Then someone picked up a shotgun and shot me straight into my head when I heard it is cancelled.

Apparently the Camera Obscura show scheduled on 31st October in KL as per shown in their MySpace might not be happening too. All these disheartening news deserve to be mourned for.

MGMT is touring Australia in December, but this is nothing to cheer about either. It is happening a little too late, with the fact that I will be in Perth a little too soon, two weeks before the gig. I will be delirious if any organiser is willing to bring the most-hyped indie duo here. If you are reading this, and you happen to be some gig organiser/promoter or you know someone is, please spread some delightful news.

Has the sky always been this grey?

Mystery Jets - Two Doors Down
Camera Obscura - If Looks Could Kill
MGMT - Electric Feel (Aeroplane Remix)

MGMT

Four years of commerce study in college, I hated doing management. A band named The Management would not have intrigued me, it sounds just like one of those bands emerged from the garage rock ashes in early 2000s. But MGMT is cool, like the new breed of band names without vowels. Being named band to watch in 2008 by both Rolling Stone and BBC, it is hard to overlook this electro-psychedelic duo from Brooklyn, New York.
Signed to major label Columbia/Sony, MGMT's debut Oracular Spectacular shouts nothing but the indie sound that is bandied about in mainstream media. Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden are ambitious to mix so many volatile elements in this record, from disco, synth pop, glam rock to blues, but the result is suprisingly impressive.
Opener 'Time To Pretend' began with hints of Queen with some squiggly keys in which they sing about the expectancy of stereotypical stardom with lines like 'Let's make some music make some money find some models for wives/I'll move to Paris, shoot some heroin and fuck with the stars'. 'Weekend Wars' recalls The Stones, then maneuvers to a Scissor Sister's b-side material. 'Electric Feels' flashes Bee Gees falsetto to a nolstagia disco funk with playful lyrics like 'I said, ooh girl/shock me like an electric eel'. Meanwhile 'Kids' is a catchy pop that revolves a more-updated synth lines. The sound of kids playing reminds me of Guillemots's 'Trains to Brazil', both are quality songs. 'Pieces Of What' see MGMT attempts a gritty acoustic piece, and they unexpectedly pull it off so well.
This is a young and fun record. Every single song stands on its own, none outshine another. Oracular Spectacular is simply spectacular.

MGMT - Weekend Wars
MGMT - Electric Feel
MGMT - Pieces Of What

-Sim-