MGMT were the undisputed festival kings of 2008. They not only popularised weaved headbands, but for a short time, made it feel like the new generation had a summer of love. Then it rained. The ketamine fuelled kids slipped on muddy fields, fell on their arses and went home to their parents all soggy, miserable and still virgins. Congratulations is a concept album based around surfing as opposed to Oracular’s sexy 60’s tinged psychedelia.
Unfortunately, it is not of Beach Boys ilk (certainly not their best of output anyway). I might also add that unless you live in Cornwall, are under 25 or your dad owns a camper van, the chances are you don’t have a fucking clue about surfing or the Beach Boys. Making MGMT’s curious album influence a moot point from the off.
Lets also get this out of the way right now: There are also no happy party tunes reminiscent of Electric Feel or Time to Pretend. Fact.
So, a bankable, fashionable and marketable band get signed, make a fuckload of money then decide to stick it to the man by writing songs allegedly about Lady Gaga (!?!) and producing nothing that sounds like the songs that made them popular, the record label is probably shitting a brick right now.
It starts quite well with “It’s happening”, a psych-rock by numbers similar to the closing tracks on ‘Oracular’. Song for Dan Treacy steps up the game a bit, but then strangely sounds like a psychedelic Pete Doherty singing the verses. Someone’s missing is half good, but the funky build up ends as it just begins. Flash Delirium tries to squeeze a few tracks in one, the main ebb is interesting and grows on you with time, but then builds into a mess.
Siberian Breaks is a 12 minute “opus” which starts with promise and then a tsunami of shit comes and ruins it when the vocals start to go all “talky” like a morose and high Ray Davies. The song gets really interesting around the 8:25 mark and sounds like MGMT of old, only for it to be ruined again about 40 seconds later. You can’t help feeling that if they had taken two of the sections of this song and honed them into 3 minutes they would have been a fair listen. Siberian Breaks reeks of pretentiousness and unfortunately lacks the talent that the band needs to possess to make something this grand work.
Brian Eno is the closest song you will get to a single on this album and sounds curiously like an early Supergrass b-side. Lady Dada’s Nightmare (honestly) starts like a forgotten Pink Floyd track, which then builds with out of key strings and shrieking, which just completely ruins everything going for it and makes it an extremely unpleasant auditory experience. Closer, Congratulations, like most of the album is absolutely forgettable.
What’s good (4 tracks), is only by the skin of its teeth. It lacks the punch and impact of what made the band so interesting, but in the main its frankly dull by comparison. Honestly? It feels like they are taking the piss. Turning their back on the creative approach to song writing that made them into a household name and becoming a self indulgent mess this is the sort of album that could lose their following and a record deal.
5/10
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