Oracular Spectacular

Music history is replete with youthful innovators with a deep understanding of past music, displaying a sophisticated command of the genres they were working in. The duo behind MGMT, Andrew Van Wyngarden and Ben Goldwasser, are not that. Rather, they are clever debutantes, skimming along the surface of the last 50 years of pop music, plucking a bit of glam there, a touch of Prince there, a little disco there, some electronica here, a scintilla of psychedelia there, and weaving all these disparate elements into bright, summery pop music. They have an equal partner in Dave Fridmann, whose taste and firm hand on the keel is much appreciated. Fridmann balances analog and digital textures beautifully, and I didn't spot one single horrible synth patch, a small miracle in 2007. Another impressive aspect of Oracular Spectacular is that the duo composed all of the tunes, played all of the instruments, and did all of the arrangements. When I looked up the album on discogs, I fully expected to see session musicians. While Wyngarden and Goldwasser would never be mistaken for virtuosos on their instruments, between them they are competent on drums, keyboards, guitars and bass, at the very least. It doesn't stop there. The pair use their voices intelligently, sometimes going for mellifluence, sometimes a Bowie-esque whine, and still others a Prince-like falsetto. Their tunes are both catchy and display a keen understanding of pop songcraft. The tunes don't always develop in predictable ways. There are surprise changes in tempo, key, and time signatures. And their arrangements are canny, combining the old and the new harmoniously. The music on Oracular Spectacular may be light, fun pop, but there is quite a bit of skill under the hood. This kind of light pop really isn't my kind of thing, but MGMT and Dave Fridmann have done a great job with the concept and material.

Takes me back to the days when I worked at Subway and would mop the nasty floors jamming to MGMT

OVRRTD.

Nostalgia clouded rating! This album (and more specifically "Kids") was ubiquitous when I was doing snowboard seasons. I subsequently listened to this album a lot and have grown to love it. It makes fun noises!

This might be blasphemous, but fuck it - there are shades of David Bowie in here. The hits are here, but the deeper cuts are infinitely listenable. Just an enjoyable album front to back. Best track: Kids

hipster supermarket music

I can't get on board with management. Bunch of boring clean shirts in their ties and polished shoes. Probably get home and expect their tea to be on the table. A downtrodden wife, who's been slaving away all day and doesn't even get a "thanks". A cottage pie, a cheap bottle of plonk and five minutes of miserable missionary. Makes me sick.

MGMT BAAAAAAAABY

Really great record. Some classic naughties singles. Fantastic production throughout

Oracular Spectacular?....Craptacular more like it.

Tie-dye bandana hype. I couldn't get on board with the music (or the tie-dye) at the time, and I still don't get it now. Three absolute monster hits and a lot of really dreary filler. Rehashing all the shit parts of the 1970s in a knowing hipster way for the 2000s generation, great.

Pleasingly proggy, I wish I'd listened to it sooner.

1. Time To Pretend: This sounds familiar. Oh I know this!!! I love the sound. I relate to this so much. It’s a little sad at the end. I get the existential nihilism but I hope they change their mind over the album. I love the… synths?… in the background. 2. Weekend Wars: Ugh I love this whole sound. “my predictions are the only things I have” is hell of a lyric. “There’s a reason I don’t win, I don’t know how to begin” 3. Youth: This makes me sad knowing they are probably mid millennials now. Every generation thinks it’s gonna change the world doesn’t it? Or maybe this is about growing up and taking your parents generations place as the adults in the world? This album feels very like “is growing up worth it?” This has a trance-y hypnotic feel because of all the repetition. 4. Electric Feel: I think this song is about the industrial revolution? Or the information (internet)/ technological revolution. They have a lot of repeating musical motifs throughout this album kind of like you notice in Broadway. Oh I love this flute part or whatever is. It sounds kind of Norwegian? Or something like that? Like I’d hear it in Frozen. 5. Kids: Everyone knows this song. I think Gossip Girl or something used it. Crazy how it was huge years after the album came out. I was obsessed with this once. Oh the famous “a family of trees wanted to be haunted” lyric that no one knows what it means but it’s provocative. Really gets the people going. Is this about growing up? Love the instrumental breakdown it’s gorgeous. Growing up and having to take responsibility? Unsure. 6. 4th Dimensional Transition: Pretty sure this is just about sex but it sounds really cool and the metaphors are interesting. I guess not committing though. The outro is so gorgeous. 7. Pieces of What: This sounds somewhat country but weirder. This has a lot of pathos. Not sure why. Idk I’m super into this it makes me feel nostalgic for something I’ve never known. 8. Of Moons, Birds, and Monsters: This is weird af but it sounds cool. What’s it about? Idk. I hear a lot of Lorde in this. I wonder if MGMT is one of her influences. Outro is so good. 9. The Handshake: This has to be the selling out song. MGMT’s hotel California. It’s such a cool song. All over the place like several songs stitched together but haunting and foreboding. 10. Future Reflections: I don’t know what this is about. Modernity maybe. But it’s gorgeous. Oracular means: relating to an oracle/hard to interpret/enigmatic/ utterance that seems to come from special inspiration or authority/prophetic Spectacular: beautiful in a dramatic or eye-catching way/ an event such as a pageant or musical, produced on a large scale and with striking effects/striking, sensational, notable for size or beauty Oracular Spectacular is a perfect name for this album. (Future Nostalgia could never) I love this. It’s like a perfect listening experience in the same way that melodrama is. And I feel like you probably pick up more and more on subsequent listens. This is going on my album rotation. Curious to see where the band went from here. 2nd listen: 1. Such a good opening track for a debut 2. I guess I just like trippy-ish music. This sounds Beatles-ish meets solar power Lorde but that might be boss baby syndrome. I just am into the vocals and the atmosphere. 3. This gets a little sinister cultish sounding towards the end? But I like it? It’s like yay! Growing up! Oh wait. Growing up. Or it’s starts out good intentioned but ends up really sinister. 4. I fucking love this song. Everyone says it’s about sex or ahuayasca but I still think it’s about technological innovation/Revolution and how it changed the world and how we felt about it at the start (before we knew the consequences) and the band straight up said it’s about electricity 5. If you don’t/didnt like this song at some point you have superpowers. But in context of the album (which seems very reluctantly coming to grasps with coming into adulthood both as an individual and a generation and a human race) it fits so well. I love love the bridge part. Second half of the album is apparently controversial about if it holds up to the first half. 6. This is the sex/drugs song though clearly. It has no hook but it’s atmospheric af. 7. I just really like this. I’ve never heard anything else like it. It’s like a trippy fucking Jack Johnson song or something but make it country on lsd. Love the beat pick up at the end. 8. I just love the instrumentals of this. Can’t make out the lyrics at all really. 9. I never get tired of the songs about selling out for fame. They’re always so sinister and cool. The handshake under our tongue being a reference to hiding pills under your tongue instead of taking them is clever af though / the whistling at the end is so eerie. 10. Is that an organ? Or an organ sounding synth? The vocals on this are higher in the mix then anything else. The end reminds me of something more recent. It’s like a trippy oceanic feeling. I really loved this album. I might change the tracklist order eventually but there are no skips.

MGMT understands the enjoyment of being enveloped in a wave of sound like a shoegaze album whilst keeping the catchy hooks like your favorite pop song. This leads to an album that certainly has its fantastic hits and moments on it, and the whole album otherwise is still incredibly solid. My only worry, and the reason it stays from the five range, is I question how much this will stick with me past the singles. Some of the sounds of songs already allude me just after the album ends, and it does sort of give off the vibe of the music the alternative kid listens to just to stand out, albeit far better than most other groups that fall into that genre. I certainly don't dislike it, far from it, I just could use some more form in my pop and some more overwhelming noises in my wall of sound.

There were some songs on this album that brought back a lot of memories. MGMT sounded familiar but wow those songs were really popular. They're also the best songs on the album, however. Some of the songs are a bit boring but songs like Electric Feel mostly make up for it and maybe it's partially because I recognize them but Time to Pretend, Electric Feel, and Kids are great. That being said, the lyrics are pretty weak throughout the whole album and the production sounds a bit washed out even on my favorite songs. Plus the end of the album is really weak and I skipped several songs on the album on the second listen. The good songs are good but there aren't enough of them to justify a 4th star. Favorite Songs: Time to Pretend, Electric Feel, Kids Least Favorite Song: The Handshake Decent 6/10

dog shit. psych music is probably my most listened to genre so its nothing to do with genre, its because its just fucking shite. i feel dirty classifying it as psych, its like an instagram version of being wavy. like some teenager wearing a tie die t shirt and saying 'far out maaaan'.

This spectacular journey of bliss entranced me.

I like adverts they make me buy lots of things to impress my friends and work colleagues

Swirly, bubbly fun. I've only heard their hits before, so I'm glad to have this exposure to a genuinely enjoyable listening experience.

Elite level singles. Pure hype beyond that. Even worse than I remembered, no nostalgia bump at all here. The lyrics are shockingly poor. Aimed for left field indie-psych, ended up with advert music.

A pretty pleasant listen with a few super catchy synth melodies. I enjoyed my time with the album, it gets pretty dreamy at times and I for sure liked some songs more than others - which all seem to have been their break through hits from previous recordings just re-recorded for this album. Standouts Time to Pretend Electric Feel Kids 4/5

Singles carry this album

There are several songs on this album, that shaped future albums, future genres, future music. Probably it's enough to give it 5 stars. I'm gonna go with 4.5/5.

It is clear that this paved the way for a new alt-pop sound, with artists like Tame Impala living the legacy MGMT never could. Only rating this a 4 because it has 3 great genre-defining songs (the rest are your typical experimental-style musical shrugs). This is, undeniably, a must-listen.

Good start, amazing hits in the middle w "Electric Feel" and "Kids" back-to-back, and then a little boring toward the end but still a strong debut from the best band from Connecticut ever, which is saying something coming from someone who has put in more effort than most trying to create the best band from Connecticut ever. Recipe to cure a lonely night: 1. Listen to "Kids" 3 times in a row. 2. Listen to "Broken" by Lovely The Band 3 times in a row. 3. Go back and listen to "Kids" again, noting how Lovely The Band so thoroughly borrowed "Kids" main keyboard riff as the backbone of their (excellent hit) song. 4. Play "Broken" one more time, but as loud as you can and scream along with the lyrics.

Nr. 177/1001 Time to Pretend 4/5 Weekend Wars 3/5 The Youths 3/5 Electric Feel 4/5 Kids 5/5 4th Dimensional Transition 3/5 Pieces of What 3/5 Of Moons, Birds & Monsters 4/5 The Handshake 3/5 Future Reflections 4/5 Average: 3,6 Fun mix of pop & electronica.

Great music. Loved it when it came out and still do.

Love this album. Always a fun listen just not for everyday listening imo

4 Songs in. If everything is as good as these first 3 tracks (I've heard Electric Feel before), this is gonna be an EASY 5 star. Upon finishing the album, the back half kinda falls off. It's still alright, but I went from "every song is now in my likes" to "80%". Which means this is a perfect 4/5 in every shape of the name. Gonna be real funny when I check the global average and discover that people hate this album or something.

first track is one of my favorite mgmt tracks ever. something about the hard synths and then the raucous drums hits like nothing ever has second track is wildly different, almost early beatles in soul third track is like an anthem of a generation. somber and urgent and plaintive I SAID OOH GIRL 💃🕺💃🕺💃🕺💃 (track 4) damn this shit comes all the way back from high school. downloading the music videos off youtube and putting them on my ipod (track 5) not a lot to say about tracks 6 and 7 Overall phenomenal album incredible for history

With a title like Oracular Spectacular, this album does feel like a hipster time travel report from the future (perhaps even now) back to 2007 describing what life will be like in post modern 2.0 internet A debut album, and what a debut album it was. If it were a vinyl, Side A 1-5 is the strength and Side B tracks 6-10 are the weakness. I feel bad for this group because as a debut album they have been doomed, even as they mature experientially and musically, to never reach its groovy heights ever again. 1) Time to Pretend - A confession of pretension is somewhat comforting? And on this track grooving. I also take this as a warning that the rest of the album that follows is lyrically tongue-in-cheek and not to be taken to literally or seriously. 2) Weekend Wars - The Bowie idolatry is on! 3) The Youth - Woefully naive, or sarcastically cynical, I cannot decide which. Love the dreamy production with walking bass and The Beatles-esque harmony. 4) Electric Feel - Love this sound and production. Lyrically, I am convinced this song is just simply about the transcendence of youthful lovemaking, or extolling the society altering affects the goddess Amazon.com. 5) Kids - Ahh, the celebrated callousness of youth. Take what you want from it, but try not to be trapped by nostalgia nor participation trophies. 6) 4th Dimensional Transition - Where the college dorm psychedelia experience meets the road of reality. Love the pulsing tabla groove. Kula Shaker would be proud of this arrangement. 7) Pieces of What - The first song that feels like your standard early 2000s indie blues oriented rock. Not a bad thing, just the first song that did not eschew traditional song arrangement. 8) Of Moons, Birds & Monsters - Jefferson Airplane for the early 2000s. I love the finger food of music history approach in this song, and frankly on this album. A cynical person could say they are being ironic with their sound, but I personally think they truly love these pop forms as much as we do. The lyrics seem nonsensical, possibly chosen for the sounds of the words more than their actual meaning on this song. 9) The Handshake - Feels like a failed effort at Goth inspired songs. The angst is a bit eye-rolling, but then I remind myself that they warned us Time to Pretend not to take anything very seriously. 10) Future Reflections - Feels like a primer for understanding the image chosen for the album cover. All in all, a solid effort but in the canon of music nothing that delineated a before and after. One of the more interesting things to listen to in 2007. on a ten scale I would give it a 3.5, but since we are on a five scale, I'll give it a 4 on the strength of the first 5 songs.

I made a conscious effort to avoid this album and, to a lesser extent, this band for many years based off of the singles when they were released. Electric Feel, Kids and Time to Pretend didn’t really sit well with me then. I couldn’t get behind their sing-along, trust-fund hipster synth-funk. It was the kind of music that dudes who wore 80’s athletic shorts, had dumb mustaches and coke problems listened to; music for people who organized kickball leagues or duck-duck-goose tournaments in McCarren Park. Listening to those specific songs today, I still have that impression, I won’t lie. However, I don’t think those songs are a very good representation of what this record actually is. This is, and I mean this as a compliment of the highest order, a proper dirtbag psych rock record, along the lines of Ween or Royal Trux or maybe pre-Soft Bulletin Flaming Lips. I really fucking like it and I was wrong about this band. It’s weird, heady and psychedelic and doesn’t deserve to be lumped in with the superficiality of late aughts’ hipsterdom.

This takes me back to a really specific time

Not sure about this, maybe I'm a bit too old. Pleasant enough but a bit of a whiff of 'of the moment' hipster vibes? 'Kids' is awesome though.

So I enjoyed the MGMT “Oracular Spectacular” album, and appreciated the originality of their sound… Pretty good diversity from a musical perspective throughout, and overall the album was pretty well done… “Kids” is by far the best track on the album, and its sound is incredibly original, and I’d give it 5-starts out of 7 in my little rating scale… Lyrics seem quite interesting as well, though don’t really have an idea as to exactly what it’s about though the line “…Control yourself, take only what you need from it…” really resonated with me from a variety of perspectives… “Time To Pretend” & “Electric Feel” were also the popular, and I though they were pretty solid, but the track other than “Kids” that grabbed me – was “Of Moons, Birds, & Monsters”, as I just really enjoyed that one as well… A solid 3 for me overall, and the “Kids” track really bumped it up…

It seems like MGMT wanted to be droning electro artists but then decided to turn their 45-minute instrumental versions of the Ghostbusters theme song into 3-minute pop songs so they could get famous. And they did so very effectively. The three hits are solidly hits. The filler is pretty bland but not offensively so. This is very 2007 “indie” pop but there are worse things.

Was familiar with some of these tunes, but never remember MGMT as the band! Or didn't know. Lounge party music?

1. Time to Pretend - initially, seems like a song that talks about the boredom of the world and wants to get away and live lives of sex and drugs. as the song progresses, it talks of the true wanting: their childhood and life before their tedious life working at a 9 to 5 job. the outcome of their glam-filled lives, or boring lives too will be mediocre, and this was their 'time to pretend' after childhood; they were fated to pretend, couldn't escape it. song in general sounds super cool! 4/5 2. Weekend Wars - i don't really get it. i think they're bored? and what they may do to pass the time? no idea sounds pretty cool though! but a 2.5/5, not going in my playlist 3. The Youth - gorgeous gorgeous song. talks of the change in youth, the transition between growing up and staying kids. this is expressed more in the music, with an obvious shift in tone. 5/5, going in my playlist 4. Electric Feel - some girl whose charisma is very electric. 2/5 5. Kids - speaks of the give-and-take in the dynamic of a family. the importance of making decisions, and the stage of being an infant; a toddler. sounds pretty cool. 3.5/5 6. 4th Dimensional Transition - i don't get it. i don't like it. 1/5 7. Pieces of What - i don't know either. sounds alright, very country-esque. 2/5 8. Of Moons, Birds & Monsters - exactly what the title says. interesting song. not going in my playlist though. 3/5 9. The Handshake - i think its about power politics, of signing a deal and not letting yourself get caught up in the power struggle between people. about being ignorant and in denial of being used, and not forgetting your roots. sounds pretty cool. 3.5/5 10. Future Reflections - nooo idea what this is about, very philosophical and vague. i feel like if i got this i'd be/sound super cool or something. sounds cool though! not going in my playlist 4/5 what's going in my playlist? 1. The Youth my rating? - solid 3/5

3.3 - It's 2009 and I'm sitting at my cubicle with my earbuds in. Pandora's spinning another MGMT track, just for me. I look around. I see my mug. Then my screen. I gaze up at the beige ceiling tiles...Everything's FINE. Everything WILL be fine. Everything feels PERFECTLY FINE... I am feeling perfectly fine...

The rest of the album doesn't hold up to Time to Pretend, Kids and Electric Feel, but those three are fucking huge tunes...although were played to death a bit at the time. Let's shoot some heroin and fuck with the stars, I suppose.

The singles (I assume) are pretty good, but the rest isn't. It doesn't offend, but doesn't inspire either.

Not the album I remembered. More delicate. Kids still goes hard. Other stuff is a little mid. Artful mid 00s poseur indie. Melodious. Was expecting nostalgia but didn't really get it.

Bowie, flaming lips, that Britpop band whose name I can't remember, oh, and let's make everything louder than everything else. Some of it was ok, but mostly just fatiguing.

Wow fast nur banger, hat voll den nicen vibe auch generell

One of my desert island albums, perfect no skips. So much fun

First track amazing definitely going to become one of my favourites. Not too fond on the second track weekend wars though. Same with track three if I am honest. Track 4 Electric Feel is good imo still not hitting the highs of track 1. Kids is biblical dare I say more. Track 5 isn’t great definitely a miss on this project. Track 6 Pieces of What is quite good when you get into it. Last few tracks were an actual vibe bro. 10/10

Such a seminal album and band of this era. Fave song: Time to Pretend, Future Reflections

This album came out when I was in middle school, and I love it just as much today as I did then.

Spectacular album. One of my favs

Album of the the summer for the 18th year in a row

Just love

Played this cd a million times

♫ Listening to "Time to Pretend" by MGMT (Time to Pretend - SOTW, 2007) ♫

I never knew MGMT, only by some memes with Eletric Feel. Even though I am a 90's kid, it just didn't make its way to me I suppose. That's what I love about this project, I had a streak of bad albums that took me a while to recover from, but I'm so glad when I got back I got an absolute string of bangers, and this one takes it. Cheerful party music that wasn't afraid of sounding meaningful. And I'd bet at the time they were considere shallow, but anyone that listen to this album will be able to say all tracks still hold up in lyrics and melody. An absolute must-hear-multiple-times-before-even-generating-the-next-suggestion. The only track I didn't quite enjoy was 4th Dimesion, so... Fav Track: all of them

Indy Rock original

Love it!

Three bangers and the rest is not too bad.

Listened before?: Yes, many times An album for the youths, that I loved when I was a youth.

Love this album, has to be 5 stars as these guys wrote this and pioneered the sound of psych pop that I love today. Inspired so many

Classic for me - makes me feel like im back in high school

This is an amazing record that you don't think you'll like but every song here is well written and instantly becomes a favorite because it exists in a place that defies everything you expect and becomes the kind of record you urge everyone to listen to because it's so perfect,

Classic.

Now this is an album that never gets old for me. I own this on vinyl and it has one of the strongest "A sides" of any album ever. "Time to Pretend", "Weekend Wars", "The Youth", "Electric Feel", and "Kids" is an INSANE run of songs!! Unfortunately the B side isn't as great but I do like "The Handshake". Overall this is one of the best indie albums of the 00s and the perfect coming of age album. Definitely a challenge to pick a favorite song here.. Favorite track: Time to Pretend 4.5/5

2007 was a fantastic year for entertainment. This album was a real nostalgia trip, and it still holds up excellently today.

I feel about this the way boomers feel about Led Zeppelin

Yes

FINALLY SOME GOOD FUCKING FOOD!!! I love MGMT and this is the kind of groovy I need to get through the day. this is probably one of their best albums too, ugh, love it

I first heard Kids in 2013 or 2014 when I was in 9th or 10th grade. My art teacher, Mr C, had a indie rock Pandora station playing all times during his classes. Mr C’s music taste ending up having a huge influence on my own for the rest of high school and beyond! This album is an easy 5/5 for me. Fav song is the iconic: Time to Pretend

pretty fricken good actually

If they make a musical about being a millennial in the late 00s early 10s, this would be the score.

I know that I basically love all aughts-era indie but this album really is something special. Just banger after banger. Such a great coming-of-age album.

Will relisten great album 9/10

super phonky and vibey. I'm definitely coming back to this. great songwriting too

Brilliant album, some really good massive summer hits and nice variation of tracks to keep it interesting while still being MGMT.

Great proto-vapourwave / shoegaze pop fun. Kids is definitely the outlier in terms of tone.

Bomb af

Good

MGMT is one of my absolute all-time favorite bands so seeing this pop up on here was a nice surprise! I’m surprised to see this over Congratulations, but maybe that’s still yet to show up! OracSpectac is a pretty flawless album that helped the entire soon to be 2010s indie rock sound go mainstream, and while it isn’t a fiver in relation to the rest of the MGMT discography, it’s gotta be a fiver in relation to this list.

yeah i forgot how awesome this album is honestly, it goes so hard for no reason and I forget that i feel that way about every single song here. probably part of that is nostalgia, and actually i remember thinking i was cool and interesting when i was a tween and listening to this whole album all the way through--maybe one of the first albums i did that with--so it's funny to do it again now as an adult. but maybe that is part of what is feeling so good about it, is those memories of this album that make me feel like i am like, doing something by listening. it's giving me that self-involved childlike mindset that i think i lost not too much after i encountered this album the first time.

I can't think of a better way to describe being a teenager. I got all the memories and fantasies again from hearing this. All the friends, late nights, parties, running around, highs and lows. For 40 minutes, I got all of that back.

Great album. Did not expect mgmt to be this versatile

3/28/25. This album is a classic for me and is responsible for introducing me to "indie" or alternative music, especially in the pop space. Still sounds great to this day and every song brings a lot to the table.

👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

I remember 2007. It fucking sucked. It was such a terrible year. The recession kicked off, everyone was miserable. The good feelings of the end of history were once and for all dead and buried. Look at a list of cultural products from 2007. There’s basically nothing there. It’s like Ratatouille and that’s it. And Jesus like 300 and Transformers are hideously dated nightmares reflective of the time. Ugly stupid movies. And music? Rock is dead at this point. You’ve got what? Kings of Leon? An okay Arctic Monkeys album? Hip hop was in the dirty south doldrums, with dime a dozen acts all chasing to be the next flash in the pan ringtone artist. And then there’s this album I’ve literally never listened to until today. And this is very clearly a cultural hinge point. This is the moment when the Bush era ends and we go to something new. It’s an album of fear and ennui and a desire for something new and better. It’s a call to action with no motivation. It’s the sound of youth in revolt that can’t find its way out the door. A burgeoning movement. The sound of burgeoning social media and the step towards an all encompassing tech culture. It’s indie pop without the pretension. Every album released after this has this one’s DNA in it.

Kids, Electric fields and time to pretend are songs of the album. It has its own tones and melodies. Very cohesive. Like it a lot!

The album opens with the iconic “Time to pretend”. With great synths & catchy melodies, this track does a good job of capturing the essence of the album. The lyrics here are really good too, and a little sad, but over an infectious song. Following this is “Weekend Wars”, which takes a different approach. It starts with simple but great sounding guitar, drums & vocals. By the end, the song has a lot going on with great arpeggios, synths etc. Surprisingly this song channels Mick Jagger vocally, and at least parts of the song seem to be a nod to 60’s Rolling Stones. “The youth” is a beautiful track, quite melancholic, with great lyrics too. The chorus is one of the best parts of the album so far. The following track is the massive “Electric Feel”, which is probably one of the best tracks of the 2000’s. It’s a perfectly crafted song, worryingly catchy chorus, brilliant bass line. There is nothing more to say about the track, other than it’s just great. I have similar feelings about the songs “Kids” except it comes with a bit more depth and a big sense of nostalgia. The second half of the album starts with “4th dimensional breakdown” which is a decent, more experimental song with a good outro but isn’t nearly as gripping as the other tracks so far. “Pieces of what” is fairly similar to “weekend wars” with the Mick Jagger inspired vocals. A great sounding guitar & lovely piano riff paired with the vocals make the song. I like that the song remains relatively stripped back throughout. “Of moons, birds and monsters” does a great job of balancing a pop and experimental sound with classic rock energy, with a great guitar break. The instrumentation here is on another level, and the second half of the song solidifies it as one of the best tracks on the album. The penultimate track “The handshake” has a great haunting sound to it, whilst still being as easy to listen to as pretty much any track here. The album finishes strong with “Future reflections” which is probably one of the best instrumental moments on the album. Overall, “Oracular Spectacular” is a great album, which manages to deal lyrically with quite melancholic or reflective topics of growing up and problems in life etc. whilst managing to make a brilliant sounding album which perfectly balances catchy pop choruses with experimental moments and classic rock elements. It is produced really well, too. 5/5.

Actually really enjoyed this album, one of the better ones I've listened to since starting this.

имба.

5/5. Can't believe 1) I've never listened to the full album and 2) they're from Middletown CT

I love The Management!

Ik kwam laatst tot een interessant inzicht. Ook al luister ik graag naar hele uiteenlopende soorten muziek, ik heb een hele duidelijke roots van mijn muzieksmaak. En die ligt in 2007/2008/2009, de jaren dat ik zelf begon met ontdekken van muziek is ook mijn smaak ontwikkeld. En in de jaren werden de hitlijsten en radiostations (naast slechte popmuziek) gedomineerd door indie-acts. What a time to be alive. Ik houd er van om mij breed te oriënteren en nieuwe muziek te luisteren. Allerlei soorten genres kan ik waarderen en leuk leren vinden. Maar puntje bij paaltje keer je terug maar je roots. Het stapje naar deze plaat is snel gemaakt. MGMT is één van die artiesten die toen opeens hartstikke hard doorbraak. Met een vreemd creatieve plaat waar ze ook nooit meer aan hebben kunnen tippen. Zeker de 5/6 tracks zijn weird, bijzonder maar ook ijzersterk. En Kids is natuurlijk een anthem voor iedere indie-kid. Door het unieke geluid van die nummers, die toch weer een soort van grensverleggend waren, en door de nostalgische gevoelens waarmee ik nu overspoeld wordt, geef ik Oracular Spectacular gewoon lekker 5 sterren. 8,5/10 Highlights Time to Pretend Kids Electric Feel

Fav: Kids Least Fav: The Handshake Finding a least fav song was difficult, it’s just banger after banger, the nostalgia helps too

Super sauce

Freshman favorite

I've never listened to the whole album before... Big mistake. Great sound. 4th dimensional transition wasn't to my tastes but all the other songs *chef kiss* 4.6/5

Sounds like a synthetic ride through the galaxy! Turn me on with your electric feel, shock me like an electric eel!

Soundtrack of the late 2000s. Just a perfect album.

Nostalgic, despite never really listening to their stuff. Fun instrumentals, though the vocal work felt a tad too distant for me at times. Good time overall though, and I enjoyed the overall composition! I'm between 'Electric Feel' and 'Time to Pretend' for faves!

i have listened to this album more times than i can count. this is extremely formative music for me.

Hell yeh! This came out when I was 17 so is full of nostalgia for me. No skips!