Reviews (page 10 of 15)
I didn't realize I hadn't listened to this whole album before. It's not bad. I'm still not a huge fan though.
This takes me back to a really specific time
4*** One of my favorite albums
Indie pop, but still just pop. Three songs I obviously already knew. It's alright, but nothing too remarkable for me.
Not a genre I enjoy. This album was too mellow for me to enjoy.
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
Good pop lines - does not talk to me
nostalgia
Very enjoyable
Ganska schysst album.
An interesting sound, but it feels very dated.
What a trip down memory lane. Grew up with this album. Love the heavy synthesisers on top of the pop rock happy go lucky sound. Beautiful lay arranged and curated. Felt happy and empowered by it
There are a couple songs I adore on this album, but other than that it feels pretty mid. Disjointed, even.
Had never heard this happen before It's a good one
This whole album sounds like the same song...I'm old!!!
4/5
78 kg... huhhuh.. aamutuimaan ja alasti. kannattaa varoa... kylillä kulkee tankki... päästäkää tämä hirmu läpi... väistäkää tai metalli mötkö painaa päälle.. rautaritarin eteen ei kannata jäädä nuokkumaan.. 2024 sykähdyttävimmät urheiluhetket: jättihirviö body builder pistää juoksuksi keskellä toria, täysillä vetoja vaam.. miten on mahdollista olla tuommoinen , atleetti... albumi meediumi. 2000 luvun lörppäilyä kivaliva.. hittejä hittejä... peliservuilla kuultu kids duu du du du duuuduuduuduu daaaaaa daaaaaa... increbile melody. melodical concept, ideas out of the wazoo... ja omg niin true lyriikat myös 4thndimensional transu
22/10/24 The album was nothing special, bang average and slow.
This one is melancholic; electro music with futuristic yet retro vibes. Favorite songs were Time to Pretend and Kids.
Paved the way in some sense. For early ‘10s indietronica, but horribly dull and clearly has an identity crisis, unsure of wether or not to take itself seriously
It was good for the brief moment in time it was new and fresh. And good to listen to it again 17 years later. Now I'll put it back on the shelf until 2034. I liken it to 60s psychedelic rock in that way. Rounded up.
I prefer these guys to daft punk
As the kids would say, this is mid
I had actually never listened to an MGMT album in full before this and was not surprised in any way that this album would be a banger. Lots of great tracks and pretty much every song is so catchy.
Not entirely what I was expecting from the cover image, but pleasantly surprised. The opening track is quite psychedelic, a theme that is maintained. However, this isn't your traditional 60's psychedelia, while it still gives a nod to the past, the sounds are still pretty much of the present utilising modern synths and production. In parts their sound is occassionally reminiscent of the Amorphorous Androgynous and Seeds of love era Tears for Fears also springs to mind, although there's definitely some 70's funkiness going on (Electric Feel) and "The Handshake" has a bit of a Sparks sort of fell to it. overall not an unpleasant album and I will give it a second listen. If there is one criticism is that there's not really out and out banger of a track. Overall 7/10
Time to Pretend is a fantastic opener and Electric Feel and Kids makes this a really impressive debut, but overall nothing too moving for me
peak fifa days
I'll admit that I have a real soft spot for this album. To me this might be the best encapsulation of the 2000s indie pop scene. It has three of the most iconic songs of the era ("Time To Pretend", "Electric Feel", and "Kids"), it has this understated synth-y electronic-y sound that feels so 2000s, and somehow still feels pretty fresh to me (despite the hits being overplayed at this point). I wasn't as familiar with the rest of the album outside the big three songs, and there were a couple of really solid ones. "The Youth" was a standout for me, a much slower vibe but really strong, "4th Dimension Transition" has this frantic feeling that's cool, "Pieces of What" has slightly annoying vocals but a really solid vibe, there's a lot of good here. I don't know, the rating doesn't really matter that much but I originally was leaning 5 here, but I've been wavering and I'm not sure the back side is quite strong enough. Any album with 3 songs as good as the top 3 on here deserves high praise for sure, and I do like this album a lot, but it's definitely a lot stronger on the first half. Call it a 4.5 and regardless, this is one of the better albums of the era in a genre that I am generally into. Favorite song: Kids Other: Time to Pretend, Weekend Wars, The Youth, Electric Feel, 4th Dimension Transition, Pieces of What, The Handshake 10/14/24
Great album
Not my thing.
Weekend wars enough said. This is an iconic album that ruined this band forever because the fans wanted the 4 first songs remade and yet they still prevail
This album is so Nostalgic from my childhood. At the time it came out, I remember thinking I’ve never heard anything like it before (yeah bro I listened to Eminem and LMFAO all day what did you expect) but it hit SO hard and still does to this day. One of my favorite opening tracks on an album ever.
az úgy volt, hogy elkezdődött az első szám és egy "whoooah" után lement kétszer az album. :D lowkey blaszfémnek érzem az ötöst, de annyival jobban élveztem mint a rengeteg négyest mostanában, hogy kinda have to. 😁
Really like the songs beyond the “hits,” as I never listened to this whole album. Only seem a couple of fillers on here.
Hard to untangle this one from nostalgia, but the high notes on this album are so spectacular that I am end up forgiving some of the goofier moments.
Кайфовая музыка
What a great album! If this is the only discovery I make from this 1001 album process, it will be worth it!
Singles carry this album
You can hear Dave Fridman's production. It's like a synthy poppy junior Flaming Lips.
Drit bra album
Mweh, beetje hyped
Don’t love the deep cuts but rating it a four for the hits.
brought me back to when times were good. but also made me remember they were never really good.
It's an amazing album!
Lyrics are flippant and amazing
this album is kinda wild. Almost half of the songs off this album were massive radio hits / bangers. That being said... the other songs on the album fell very flat. I loved the songs I recognized, but didn't enjoy the other songs on the album. Definitely wouldn't do a full listen through of this album again, but am glad I listened to it.
I thought I had never heard of these guys, but there were several super famous absolute bangers on here. There was some variety which was good, but some of the songs were kind of snoozers.
Just a really fun album. Also, really pleasantly surprised by the first song Time to Pretend. I guess I didn’t know that song was by them or on this album. When I think of MGMT I always just think of kids or electric feel. They just use such different instrumentation and synth sounds in such a cool way. Also, seems like they had a real grassroots type rise to fame where it took a long time for this album to get recognized. Which is cool.
One of those albums I’m really glad is on the list! At least three songs were absolute bangers that I recognized instantly. I didn’t know what band they were from or that they were from the same band. I am impressed!
No song takes me right back to high school like Time to Pretend, and there aren’t many songs that hit close to home like it does in adulthood. This album wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great either, the hits standout well above the rest. I definitely see the influence this album has though, I would even guess we don’t get Gambino’s Awaken, My Love without this album being made.
I wasn't expecting this on here. I love this album! The first half is definitely stronger than the back half. If it kept up after Kids it could have been perfect record. When listening to the vinyl, I rarely flip it to side B. Side A is so strong though! A 9 out of 10 for me, but I can't say it's a perfect 5 stars.
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.
yeah, i always meant to listen to more MGMT than just little dark age over and over again. my one qualm is i think it would sound better if they sang in a more serious way more of the time. less frivolity!
This is pretty good and creative music, but it also gives me terrible flashbacks of wandering through department stores with my mom back in the late 2000s. (I tried to ignore that when listening.) I like the modern pop take on the "wall of sound" technique. A chorus of vocalists and light synths that, individually, aren't anything impressive – but as a group, they sound bright, heroic, unified. It's hard to describe. But the best tracks are the ones that embrace this fresh, modern sound, including Time to Pretend, Kids, and Of Moons, Birds & Monsters. There were exactly two tracks – Pieces of What and Future Reflections – that were noticeably worse than the others simply because they stopped committing to this "choral"/wall-of-sound technique, and it became more obvious that these musicians aren't nearly as good as their smokescreening might suggest. This was especially noticeable in the vocal, which was wavery and technically bad when it was by itself. In other tracks, like Weekend Wars, the instrumental was uplifting and well-mixed enough to mitigate the poor solo singing. (Is this being a little harsh? Maybe.) 3/5 Key tracks: Kids, Time to Pretend, Electric Feel, Of Moons Birds & Monsters
Didn’t realise how many of the tracks I knew, but didn’t know who they were by.
Couple og good tracks Kids and Time to Pretend otherwise sub arcade fire. Just okay.
A formative album for me. But I still love the entirety of this. So many good grooves and melodies. A perfect experience. 5/5
Only 3 good songs, the rest sucks
This blend of rock with synthpop is amazing. Really fun album.
Kedeligt, med undtagelse af time to pretend, Electric feel og kids
4.4 2x already a staple, used to be a 5
Il y a des albums, dans cette liste infernale des "1001", qui se présentent comme des évidences. Des monuments intouchables, des piliers sur lesquels des chapelles entières de la musique se sont construites. Et puis, il y a les autres, les phénomènes de mode, les étoiles filantes, les coqueluches d'une époque précise qui, une fois le soufflé retombé, vous laissent avec un goût étrange dans la bouche. Un goût de "tout ça pour ça ?". MGMT et leur "Oracular Spectacular" se rangent sans l'ombre d'un doute dans cette seconde catégorie. Que celui qui a réussi à passer à côté du tsunami MGMT en 2008 lève la main. Personne ? C'est bien ce que je pensais. C'était impossible car de la radio de supermarché au blog du hipster le plus pointu de Brooklyn, ces deux-là étaient partout. On nous les a vendus comme les nouveaux sauveurs de la pop, les héritiers de Bowie et de Prince, les porte-étendards d'une jeunesse décomplexée qui avait enfin trouvé sa bande-son. Un buzz, un vrai, comme seul l'Internet naissant savait en fabriquer. Et moi, vieux con né en 1970, qui ai découvert mes groupes sur des fanzines photocopiés et des radios pirates qui crachotaient, je regardais ça avec la méfiance d'un chat face à une porte automatique. La machine à hype était en marche, et elle tournait à plein régime. Alors, j'ai posé le disque sur la platine, enfin, j'ai cliqué sur "play", on est en 2008 après tout. Et la première chose qui frappe, il faut bien le reconnaître, c'est l'efficacité. Une efficacité redoutable, chirurgicale. "Time to Pretend" déboule avec son arrogance adolescente et sa mélodie synthétique qui s'incruste dans le cerveau pour ne plus jamais en sortir. C'est l'hymne parfait pour une génération qui rêve de gloire facile et de mort prématurée, le tout sur un ton faussement ironique. Le cahier des charges est rempli à la perfection. Puis vient "Electric Feel", autre tube interplanétaire, avec sa ligne de basse funky et son refrain qui sent bon les soirées d'été un peu trop arrosées. Et bien sûr, "Kids". Ah, "Kids"... Ce riff de synthé, si simple, si évident, si... putain d'agaçant à force de l'entendre partout. C'est le genre de mélodie qui aurait pu être composée par un enfant de cinq ans sur un Casio, et c'est probablement là que réside son génie commercial. Le problème, c'est que derrière cette façade de tubes imparables, j'ai eu du mal à trouver une substance, une âme. Tout me semble calculé, calibré pour plaire. C'est de la pop psychédélique, nous dit-on. Psychédélique ? Vraiment ? Je ne veux pas être méchant, mais le psychédélisme de MGMT ressemble plus à un filtre Instagram qu'à une véritable exploration des tréfonds de la conscience. C'est coloré, c'est rigolo, ça fait des petites vagues, mais ça ne retourne jamais le cerveau. On sent les influences, bien sûr. Un peu de glam par-ci, une pincée de disco-funk par-là, un soupçon de pop baroque à la Flaming Lips... C'est un melting-pot bien exécuté, mais qui manque cruellement de danger, de folie, de cette étincelle qui fait qu'un album vous marque au fer rouge. Passé le trio de tête des singles, l'album s'égare un peu. On sent que les deux branleurs de Brooklyn ont des idées, qu'ils tentent des trucs comme sur "The Youth" ou "Of Moons, Birds & Monsters", mais ça manque de colonne vertébrale. On passe d'une ambiance à l'autre sans véritable fil conducteur, comme si on zappait entre différentes playlists. C'est un album qui a été conçu pour l'ère du mp3, du "shuffle". On picore les tubes, on oublie le reste. Où est la cohérence d'un "Disintegration" ? Où est l'urgence d'un "Unknown Pleasures" ? Nulle part. On est dans le divertissement pur, la bande-son d'une époque qui a peur du silence et de l'ennui. Et puis, il y a ce ton, cette distance ironique, ce cynisme cool qui parcourt tout le disque. C'est peut-être ça qui me dérange le plus. La musique que j'aime, celle qui me fait vibrer, elle est viscérale. Chez MGMT, tout est sous contrôle, on fait semblant d'être des rock stars décadentes ("Time to Pretend"), mais on sent bien que c'est une posture, un jeu. Il n'y a pas de sang sur les murs, pas de larmes sur la console de mixage. Juste deux types très malins qui ont compris comment fabriquer la pop parfaite pour 2008. En fin de compte, "Oracular Spectacular" est un album qui porte bien son nom : il est spectaculaire en surface, mais son contenu reste un oracle difficile à déchiffrer, peut-être parce qu'il n'y a pas grand-chose à y lire. C'est le reflet parfait d'une génération : talentueuse, hyper-référencée, douée pour la synthèse, mais qui a parfois du mal à trouver sa propre voix, sa propre vérité. C'est un disque brillant, mais froid. Un feu d'artifice qui illumine le ciel un instant avant de s'éteindre sans laisser de traces, si ce n'est le souvenir de quelques belles couleurs. Pour la jeunesse de 2008, c'est sans doute un 5/5. Pour le vieux disquaire que je suis, qui a vu passer des centaines de "prochains grands trucs", ça ne vaut pas plus qu'un petit 3/5. Un album pour son époque, mais pas pour la mienne.
Does anything say late-2000s house party quite like this? You can chill, dance, reflect, or just vibe to this whole album. It’s diverse while maintaining a central theme. And it’s a sound that is extremely recognizable.
Pretty good album. Very entertaining.
know that one from Saltburn
Apart from the hit tracks, I found this album notable only for being jarring and messy. Silence was definitely golden at the end of the 40 minutes or so that i spent listening to it.
I thought I was gonna hate them… then I listened to more than one song!! I really liked a few. Sorta funky, electro music? Some were similar to each other, but it wasn’t bad at all.
Kids is an all-time banger.
Several big hits, and like most of the other songs too.
Never heard this before. The music is fine with a good variety throughout the album. But nothing resonates with me.
Kind of sneaky how good it is. The vocal talent itself isn't great, but everything else, musically, is pretty excellent. There are a few songs that kind of drag down the rest of the album, but outside of that, this is great. Favorite Song(s): Electric Feel, Kids, The Handshake
This disappointed me. I remember MGMT bursting onto the scene when I was a teenager and, while it's still decent, it hasn't really stood the test of time. "Time to Pretend" and "Kids" are still impressive, but the album as a whole didn't.
I had forgotten about/dismissed these guys. This is pretty good. Big singles and weird shit.
Somehow back in the day Oracular Spectacular didn’t hit for me like other indie bands. Maybe it’s the electro popness to it. But there is more there, also Pink Floyd like. The singles are phenomenal, Time to Pretend, Kids, Electric Feel but the rest is very solid. 8.1/10
Oracular Spectacular is undeniably a singles-driven album, with some standout bangers like Time to Pretend, Kids, and Electric Feel that quickly became iconic. These tracks are infectious and captivating, showcasing the duo's knack for catchy hooks and vivid production. However, as a whole piece of work, the album doesn’t quite maintain the same momentum. Some of the deeper tracks feel less cohesive and lack the immediate impact of the singles. While there’s plenty of creativity and experimentation throughout, the album can feel a bit uneven in its pacing and direction. That said, the high points are strong enough to make Oracular Spectacular memorable, even if it doesn't fully hit its stride from start to finish. It’s an album with flashes of brilliance, best appreciated for its standout moments. NUMBER OF BANGERS - 3 STAND OUT TRACK - Time to Pretend
The singles are great, but everything else really isn't. Also this reminds me of all the annoying stoners I know that dress like the album art.
Somebody listened to a lot of David Bowie.
its mgmt’s first album. I’ve never listened to the whole this but it was good.
Very good album with a lot of catchy radio friendly synth music. Worth a few spins, but i also find the album to be a little too poppy to give it all 5 stars. Let's settle for a strong 4.
A fun laidback vibe beginning to end. Kids was one of those songs I’ve heard a million times but now finally know the name of. Good stuff here.
Cool...I guess... doesn't really do it for me...3
Not too much to say about this, not bad enough for a 1, no where near a 3, so 2 it is.
Time to Pretend is an epic track, Electric Feel decent too. The other single I know (Kids) is ok. But the rest of the album is pretty poor overall. I bought this CD off the strength of the singles and it’s somewhere gathering dust as I was disappointed then with wasting my money..2 stars for the banging singles and I also enjoyed ‘Of Moons, Birds and Monsters’. The rest was garbage.
A great bit of Neo-psychedelia, which I thought was becoming a dying breed at the time (Well, it felt like it to me). The even better thing was that it got normal people to like the genre too. It was a very odd time, especially as 'Kids' was my 5 year old son's favourite song. So what is there not to like? I have to give it 4, due to the fact I don't play it often.
This wasn’t terrible, but it was forgettable sadly. I think forgettable is worse than just being bad, because this is an album I’ll never talk about after this or probably ever think about again. I mean I just finished listening to it, and I couldn’t tell you much about it. I just let it play and zoned out like it was nothing more than mere background noise.
Alta vibe que ha envejecido muy bien
The best song is Kids, which gives you the queasy, unsettling feeling that you’ve grasped some insight about life but can’t quite put your finger on what it is exactly. Outside of the three big singles, the rest of the album is disappointingly vapid and superficial.
Best Song: Electric Feel. A bit overplayed, but the rolling rhythm is really nice. Worst Song: Pieces of What. This album absolutely did not need an acoustic Brit-rock song in the middle. Overall: Really feels like (at least) two incompatible albums here. You've got the pop-electronic first half that's decently catchy, but then it just kind of devolves into random, more experimental directions that never feel all that purposeful. Would have preferred that they had stuck with what worked in the first half.
Some good tracks for sure. Each track, however, was so different from the others. At times it was a bit disorienting, like “Who am I actually listening to?” Enjoyed it for the most part
Love this album love the band. Fave tune is The Youth. Good singalong tune. Like the 70’s feel.
Other than the two songs on it everyone knows, it was bab. The whole thing didn’t feel like a cohesive album. They were clearly trying to be cool and subversive. 🙄
Lisstened to this album a gozillion times. Certainly enough times for one life. I can quite explain why it now annoys me and has done for a long while. Wrote the above during the first song when the buzzy low tones were wigging out my laptop speakers. Album gets better as it goes on and chills out. Really it just reminds me of a dick scottish person i used to work with who played it over and over agin when he used to wash the boat. Cant escape the negative connotations.
Three big singles here, but a lot of the rest of this just washed over me. I had higher hopes. I'd revisit this, but sometimes the hits are the hits for a reason. The closer was pretty decent though. Best tracks: Time to Pretend and Kids.
This album starts of phenomenally. If this stopped at Kids it would be a 5 star album, but it gets lost, and meanders the rest of the way.
Better than most
I underrate this album quite a bit! Who can forget the classic bangers but every track on this is so fantastic and they were already so fully formed as a band! Congratulations is my fav album of theirs but man does this one go!! Weekend Wars and Future Reflections are two of my favs on here!
I’ve always assumed that MGMT is just riding off of some big singles but I really enjoyed this whole album!
have a really hot and cold relationship with this band... i liked them when i was a kid and then HATED them, when I was dating rowan she was a really big fan and I never got it but then their Little Dark Age album reallllly connected with me.. and I still think its a really wonderful album, but that might be sorta where my fandom starts and ends... altho there are some really great tracks on this album and Congratulations.. none really connect or reach the heights of LDA...
Famous songs: Kids Time to Pretend
This album is absolutely timeless - all the times I've listened to it, it's never gotten old. It had me grooving in my cubicle.
Some highlights and bright bits musically but overall I found this tepid. Cognitively I can see this may be important in the transition through the 90s-today, but it leaves my soul asking me to get back to music with feeling, please (my soul has good manners). I’ll post this in my conversational brain under “music to pull out so that my decade(s) younger friends think I’m still relevant”. And how the fu k do these guys have 80x more listeners than Ozomatli?! If there was a “2.5” rating, but 3 it is
This album was such a beautiful little surprise. I'd heard a number of the songs before in various contexts. And they've been kind of playing in the background for a long time, but to hear all of this material together, unraveling song after song, was simply a joy. Each song offered something different and diverse, and emotionally surprising, but also nostalgically refreshing. Maybe this is just a new relationship energy I'm experiencing with the album that will fade fairly quickly over time, but I found that each song's discovery was accompanied by a little electric excitement--kind of like when you slowly increase the intimacies with someone that you've had a distant crush on in the background for a long time... it's comfortable sunshine, it's fun, It gets in you.And you catch yourself humming to yourself throughout the day....
Never ever heard of them… I like the mix of poppy electronic and some grittiness in the first tune. There’s an underlying California vibe to this, with a little red hot chillies, but then interesting psychedelic sprinkles… pretty darn surprisingly not bad ;). Really like the feel of The Youth… I’m surprised by the whole album… it’s strong all along… the put a lot of time into each tune… none feels like filler fluff. The production is also interesting, combining some character from many decades… without copying or sounding fake. I’m happy I know this album now.
Listened to this quite a bit when it first came out and is an album that I always forget about. When I remember and put it on I always enjoy it- just positive sounding, upbeat great songs. Definitely captures the 2007 vibe.
Bangers…….. it’s crazy how they actually invented indie rock
Some of the deeper cuts aren't so strong IMO but the singles from the album are indeed iconic to the vibe of the late 2000s/early 2010s.
I was excited seeing this album pop up. Takes me back to my school days! Time to Pretend, Kids, Electric Feel - bangers!!!! Wish the rest of the album had the same energy but it was still a good album 4 ⭐️
MGMT seems to skim the surface of several genres: little synth-pop, a little prog rock, a little Prince. Not a bad album overall, with two or three good (and very popular) tracks.
Yes. Good album
this is difficult for me to rate objectively, and i imagine it will NOT be the last album on this list that feels fraught and unquantifiable. basically, all music from this era stirs in me two kinda contradictory but equally visceral responses: the first is extreme nostalgia and affection, and the other is extreme cringe and revulsion. i cannot hear "time to pretend" without seeing in my mind's eye the same vision of an incredibly detailed skins post-canon fanvideo that i imagined when i listened to it obsessively the summer between 9th and 10th grade. i still think it's a beautiful song, but it has this tinge of childishness that i just can't ignore. basically i am unable to extricate a band like MGMT from my own adolescence; therefore it will always sound adolescent and a bit silly to me. of course it is still immensely fun, and i might like the melancholy vaguely existential lyrics contrasted with the boppy pseudopsychedelic synths even more than i did as a teenager. but it's hard to imagine anybody over the age of sixteen taking this album seriously. i just can't tell if it actually Sounds dated or if that's just what my own past sounded like.
I had no idea this was considered such an important album in music history but sure. It's hard to hear this for what it is since it's so strongly associated with a very specific Vibe from being a tween/teen during the time following its release but I can totally see how Music Appreciators could've found this to be a really interesting and pioneering album. I've listened to a lot of 60s psychedelic rock lately for one of my other ~listening challenges~ (specifically Jefferson Airplane, Love, 13th Floor Elevators, etc.) and hearing this album after those definitely makes me appreciate the evolution (or maybe even reinvention) of that sound for the digital age, and for a totally different audience. None of the non-singles particularly stood out to me. I think that's partially because it's hard to truly assess those songs when they're up against ones with which I have such a strong familiarity, but I also think the singles just had that oomph factor that made them so iconic that the others, despite being interesting, didn't quite have. Fav tracks: kids, electric feel
Sounding like a modern take on the fab 60s band The Electric Prunes, this amazing album starts strong with the upbeat, anthem-pop of 'Time to Pretend' followed by the quirky 'Weekend Wars', featuring some nifty chord changes and jangly guitar. 'The Youth' is spooky with more awesome chord changes, trippy sounds like organ, treated vocal and sound effects [the organ especially reminds me of Saucer Full of Secrets era Pink Floyd actually]. 'Kids' is instantly familiar with its killer keyboard riff and '4th Dimensional Transition' is more exotic, edgy pop-psych and 'Future Reflections' brings things to close with a spacey climax. On the downside, 'Pieces of What' could have benefited from a another take on the vocals. Nevertheless, this is a very cool sounding neo-psychedelic record, chock full of oddball yet catchy songs, exuberant vocals and experimental spacey electronic effects. Another one to add to my vinyl wants list!
Enjoyable elctro pop with a hint of chart ready weirdness.
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.
Not terrible modern pop.
Yet another ex-1001 album!™ http://1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie.wikidot.com/album-artists-a-z-ex I hadn't heard of MGMT, but 4 seconds into the album I recognised it from adverts. Decent enough modern pop, enjoyed it.
Tacky Melodies and a disgrace to psychedelic pop
I enjoyed both halves in different ways.
couple strong bangers on here, but didn’t change my life. would relisten to a couple songs
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.
A band I've always heard of but never really looked into. I enjoyed it! Also that's where that one song comes from. I'd heard it before but didn't know it was from these guys.
Only the hits are good
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.
Love this album already, I know it was ironic but still ended up being one of my favourites ones
Cohesive
Easy and fun listen, and the hits are nostalgic! A good project with a lot more layered production than I first imagined.
High 3 or low 4
Kids, youth, electric feel. Big nostalgia factor for me.
Воот пошла жара Я не фанат электроники, но этот альбом мне понравився.
LOVE
Fun little pop record with some banger hits.
This album is just about as perfect as it gets. I've listened to it probably a hundred times but never mind listening again. There's something nostalgic about it with thick synths and unexpected melodies. It just sounds so cool and thick. Highly recommended album.
While I quite like some of the tracks on this, it's not exactly a faultless album. Could do with maybe 3 fewer tracks. On the plus side, it's a direction in the mid-late 2000s away from the godawful pap that was dominant at the time, so it has that in its favour.
This album was a first time listen, but as it played through so many familiar melodies cause to question if it really was the first time to listen. It is not very often that an album has this many tunes used in commercials. Whether or not a good album is made because of that, is a debate though. Overall this album was an incredible experience because of the nostalgia it produces, but this reviewer was forced to imagine that everything was the first time, that familiarity did not count, and take the album for what it is and how MGMT intended it. That is impossible here. This album really produced jingles and marketing background music that has invaded the psyche of probably untold millions of people who has ever watched television. Musically, the album is really good. It is enjoyable, the songs are catchy and they maintain a great presence, which again is a callback to how engrained some of these melodies are in commercial culture. While some contrarians may feel this is a sell-out move, an objective look at this album validates why this is even on 1001, and that is people should know sometimes the music behind the ad, and that sometimes ad agencies make great decisions.
Repeat. Nothing about the album, but the algorithm messed up ~80 albums in.
Excellent. Classic. Always good.
Really enjoyed this
Very nice. Not as powerful as some people made it out to be, but solid through.
This album was recorded over a decade and a half ago now, and although it sounds very of its era, there’s something perpetually new and fresh about it. I’ve heard the singles from this album a million times, but they never get old. Perhaps it’s the liquid youth that emanates from these songs. The lost boy vibe of never wanting to grow up maybe froze time itself within its wax. Or maybe, I hate to say it, music simply hasn’t evolved as dramatically as say it did in the fifteen year gap between 1969 and 1984, so it feels newer in relation to everything else that’s come out since. Thank you Spotify algorithmic market research! The second half of this album is weaker than the first, but those first five songs are a powerhouse. 5 stars, and I’d give five more.
Stand out tracks - TTP, kids and electric feel. Three really good tunes. The rest were fillers.
Oracular Spectacular? More like Oracular Just Pretty Good. I say as the gates of hell swallow me up.
Just ok
7/10. Some nostalgia with a few of the songs and some cleverness to the album overall but didn’t have the vibes for me.
While Oracular Spectacular isn’t my favorite MGMT album—that would be Little Dark Age—it remains a standout release from the inventive duo. MGMT was a key player in what felt like a mini indie psych renaissance from 2006 to 2012, alongside bands like Animal Collective, Of Montreal, Grizzly Bear, Neon Indian, Wolf Parade, and TV on the Radio, all of which frequently graced my playlists during that creative period. The album brims with youthful revelations and existential musings, offering psychedelic insights into a world of cosmic possibilities, though sometimes wrapped in abstract encoding. Whether it’s profound or just playful, it’s packed with vibrant, danceable tracks that invite both movement and mental exploration. Andrew and Ben excel at making these songs feel as though they were crafted by a full band rather than just two multi-instrumentalists. They achieve this through skillful layering, well-thought-out transitions, and engaging song structures. This intuitive approach is reminiscent of solo artist Kevin Parker (aka Tame Impala), whose albums should also be on this list. Revisiting this mind-bending debut inspired me to check out a few more of their albums, including their latest release. I’m pleased to see MGMT continue to create and share their art.
I love this album! Two separate moments of nostalgia for me on this one. The first is 2009ish living in a loft apartment in Macon next to some preppy Mercer law students. They had three of these songs on all the time. I would go over and play bear pong and do blow with them. Good times. Next was after I moved to Savannah and I actually decided to listen to the whole album, making the ride to the beach, sun out and windows down. It's fun and refreshing, perfect beach music. They've certainly evolved with each album, but this one is my favorite. Production by Dave Fridmann, which makes total sense why this has a Flaming Lips vibe. Weekend Wars is my favorite on here.
This album deserves all of the acclaim it gets. An amazing mix of electro-pop, dance, rock, and plenty of psychedelia, Oracular Spectacular is a sonic wall of intricate musical ideas which alone hold water but becomes a tour-de-force when alongside such innovative and catchy songwriting. "Time To Pretend" both mocks and aspires to the excessive lifestyle we've come to accept from glamour rockstars, and they come off as rockers seasoned in such hedonism instead of a new band putting out a debut album. But the consistent message I get from MGMT is that the kids are gonna be alright. "The Youth" passes the torch to the younger generation, offering encouragement and confidence that they are ready to take the helm: "The Youth are starting to change." And "Kids" reminds them to be responsible with their power: "Control yourself/ Take only what you need from it." "Pieces of What" doubts that there is much value to civilizations' traditions, that the youth inherited a mess and sadly, they may be better off starting over, leading with love. And it's one hell of song to belt out full voice after a couple of drinks. "Electric Feel" accomplishes an impressive task of making 3/4 feel like a danceable 4/4, impossibly remaining fully accessible to ravers and radio listeners who may not be aware of the technical complexity that is happening here. It grooves so well, and it shouldn't. Completely unique. Some of the latter songs meander in their psychedelia a bit, but there is always a melodic payout. Too much of this whimsy (like on their follow up Congratulations), and the album would blur into formless soundscapes, but in this context it offers more variety to what else is happening. I would be remiss to neglect mentioning the genius of Dave Fridmann's production on this album. I became a fan of the cleanliness and spaciousness of his productions (regardless that his clients often give him such challenging noise and bombast) since he first started working with The Flaming Lips. His expertise shines through once again on this album, which often has so many elements going on that in other hands, it would be muddy and dull. As it is, this album sounds forever fresh and exciting.
A great album from a great time period, both musically and personally for me. Highly danceable psychedelia that is energetic and rich in layers and textures. Sometimes reminding me a little bit of Flaming Lips mixed with some French EDM. The song Electric Feel alone is worth the price of admission and I never tire of it. Fat bass, airy vocals, weird little flute, sensual, lush, soaring, funky. That song along with Kids and 4th Dimensional Transition is probably my favorite span of the album, but every track yields treasure. 4.5 rars
I'm pretty sure MGMT has a song on one of the FIFA soccer video game sound tracks,.which is probably the first time I'd heard them. This is an interesting album and I remember playing it a lot. At times the vocals on the album sound like a psychedelic David Bowie. On other tracks I am reminded of The Flaming Lips or Midnight Juggernauts. These guys overall have an eclectic sound that I really like. A lot of great tracks on here but my top songs are probably Electric Feel, Weekend Wars, 4th Dimensional Transition and Time to Pretend.
What an amazing album. Some song more simple, others with more complex layers. I love this album a lot. Electric Feel into Kids is amazing.
Pop music that is technically well made, but weirdly annoying with no real edge to it Psychedelic stuff is particularly really boring and lacks much of a climax or any intensity to it
Never heard of MGMT, but recognized Electric Feel instantly. Like their sound and the entire album worked for me. Will listen to more of their music in the future. OrSpec comes in at (3.7*s)
I've always liked their sound which I'll describe as one part foggy-shoegaze, one part catchy-hook, one part synth-instrumental, and one part repeat-repeater. There's a bunch of big hits on this one and even the lesser known tracks are good. I like the darker tinges and the insane music vid for "Kids."
Not bad for a pair from CT. Never been into their music but the album is decent. They do have their own style with some good electrobeats mixes. It just doesn't strike a chord with me overall. I like the non-radio tracks like "Weekend Wars" better than the hits that just got too played out. I want to see a where are they now of the kid from the "Kids" music video...2.65.
Always liked this album as I have a lot of great college memories associated with a few of the hits. Second half of this album is a little darker and although it is weaker it isn't necessarily a bad thing. Still a solid listen all the way through. MGMT brought some needed indie pop vibes with the keyboard/synth sounds that are appreciated. I haven't kept up with MGMT but after listening to this I feel I need to check out their other albums. I'll continue to put this on in the rotation and recommend it as a great debut from that time period. 3.65 stars
Great music, started as as 5 but the second half is not as good as the first one.
01) Time to Pretend - 10,0 02) Weekend Wars - 7,5 03) The Youth - 8,5 04) Electric Feel - 10,0 05) Kids - 10,0 06) 4th Dimensional Transition - 7,5 07) Pieces of What - 7,5 08) Of Moons, Birds & Monsters - 7,5 09) The Handshake - 7,5 10) Future Reflections - 7,5 TOTAL: 8,35 (84/100) Current ranking: 68/271 Where did they go after this? It's a pity that they didn't have any hits after this album. "Time to Pretend" and "Kids" are definitely in the top of the best songs from the beginning of the 21st century. The rest of the album is a little weaker, especially the second part, but there are still some solid songs.
You toss all the mornings lost to the clouds and you watch it go It tastes like death, but it looks like fun
this is my SHIT
I hear these guys every other time I turn on Sirius XMU. I always thought -- "this is pretty decent, catchy stuff." So giving a whole album a listen -- my thought was "this is pretty decent, catchy stuff." Good upbeat background stuff. Quite a bit of filler -- but the highs (largely the hits -- Time to Pretend, Electric Feel, Kids) are better than average. Unexpected bangers: The Handshake, The Youth
Pleasing overall. I didn't really have the mental space to give it the attention it deserves.
Knew the two that everyone does, but glad to hear the whole album. Really enjoyed it.
Really enjoyed hearing this again
Pretty freakin good. I have never REALLY been able to enjoy it because to me this entire sound is shaded with fomo. It may have everything to do with the time. It came out when I was a freshmen in college and it seemed like MGMT was maybe the pinnacle of what I COULD be doing but instead i was playing video games in a dorm in New Hampshire. Album kinda fades but damn, lotta hits on the front half. Personally a 3, probably deserving of 5 and splitting the difference.
I started high school in 2007 so these are some nostalgic sounds from that time, but I have always found MGMT to be overstimulating and thus never resonated with their music. Time to Pretend has 400m plays on Spotify and it sounds so boring to me, and the mixing is just so odd. The sound effects are so much louder than the spoken lyrics, which in the end is fine because the lyrics are so incredibly trite that it made me roll my eyes. Kids, on the other hand, feels moderately more profound in terms of the emotion its conveying and its mixing is much more balanced but oddly enough still doesn't resonate with me all that well. And I'm a person who loves themes of family and how you exist in the ever changing dynamics of them!
I thought mgmt was gonna be the biggest band in the world after this album. Huge at college parties in 2010 ish. There are three great songs and some other decent ones, a few misses. After this it seems like they turned their noses up at what made them famous (catchy dance songs) and tried to become something more alternative/psychedelic, losing some of their charm.
Excellent debut album for one of the most noteworthy pop-electro bands of the 21st century. Some proper bangers on the album, such as Electric Feel & Kids. Even as someone who primarily listens to harder genres, metal and such, the album is still a very enjoyable listen and none of the songs really call for a strong dislike. 4/5
Super nostalgic
Bright, spacey, fluid, and super well-produced. Not every song connects with me, but the three big singles are so good and the vibe is so well-established that I still come away with pretty good feelings about this one. Best song: Electric Feel
Even though this felt like something that would play on an alternative rock radio station, I didn't hate it.
J’ai plein de chose à dire, mais je sais pas comment les enchaîner, faque je vais faire une liste: 1. Beaucoup de hits 2. Arcade Fire 3. Estival 4. Cool Et puis 5, bah y’a pas de 5
What I liked most about this album was the production. The layers and vocals make for a great feel. Even when talking about somewhat dark material as in Time to Pretend the music comes out upbeat and fresh.
Liked this a lot. Did the rounds back in the day but missed me. Those two tunes were attached to every indie film of the 2010’s. Will add to library.
Does everyone give extra stars for nostalgia value? I have great memories listening to this back in the day, so I unashamedly added a star.
Hey I knew so many of these. Enough bops to make me happy.
Still sounds epic.
Bom demais e melhora a cada faixa
Not bad! I enjoyed some of this.
Familiar even though I never listened much to them.
Don’t know much by this band. But already got 3 saved. Looking forward to the whole thing. Ok, the 3 I liked before, I still really like. The rest is fine. But I didn’t grab anything new. Still good overall, though. 4/5
I went to this thinking I only knew 1 song (Electric Feel) and completely did not realize I knew "Time To Pretend" and "Kids". I've heard both a million times but not known who they were by or the names of the songs. I really enjoyed this album. It gives me big nostalgia for my late teens/early 20s. I think it's a great pick to capture a certain sound from a certain era. I ended up really loving a lot of the other songs too! I think I have to give it the extra star for the nostalgia vibes, and for the other groups it inspired down the line.
This album has stood the test of time. I loved this back in 2007 and love it now. There are so many good songs on this album, electirc feel, kids and time to pretend are my favourites as everyone elses!! Its ashame they never hit these hights again. Favourite song: Time to pretend. Least favourite: everything is good. Album artwork: Love the cover
Time to Pretend, Kids, Pieces of What, un 5 en toda regla.
I recognized a couple tracks on here - original stuff, interesting, very listenable. Not great, but good stuff.
Good
I love this album, it marks a special era in the 2000s. There are moments where the music doesn’t feel authentic, which I think was the band’s intention to a certain extent, but it takes away some of the magic for me.
Already in my (CD) collection. Solid record. Three standout tunes are the "hits": Time to Pretend, Kids, and Electric Feel. Not quite a masterpiece but a very strong debut.
“Electric Feel” and “Kids” are stone classics, and the rest of the tracks aren’t bad either, a collection of Day-Glo psychedelia and electronic noodling. It peters out a bit by the end, but it’s still fun.
Some nice songs
Fantastic album - no notes
Knew more songs than I thought!
2000s fifa soundtrack: the album
This should have been called “3 good songs and some other songs”.
A very pleasant, original and danceable album. It put me in a happy, relaxed mood and my work definitely went much better ;-) And that's why I consider it very positive - as I've been listening to this list while working, it's very important how much an album helps me (or not!) get through the day :-)
Not bad, didn’t rly listen closely, maybe I’ll give it another rhn
I remember when this album came out, these guys were lauded as musical geniuses the likes of which we had never seen before. While that's definitely not true, the album isn't bad. It's kind of middle of the road mid-2000s pop alt. Kids is a good song although I kind of got sick of it from hearing it so much. Time to Pretend is solid as well. I feel like more than being musical geniuses, MGMT were better at knowing what kind of sound would sell at the time. The lyrics are pretty bad for the most part, but the songs are catchy in a 2007 kind of way. The second half of this album falls away and is completely forgettable. I feel like MGMT kind of came and went as the sound that they capitalized on faded away. Apparently they came out with a new album about 5 months ago (Feb 2024) and it only has a few million plays on Spotify. I've not heard any of it so can't really comment but I would imagine that true musical geniuses would get more than a couple million plays in 5 months. For this album, 3/5 is generous I suppose.
I think I would give this a 3.5 if possible, but I can't, so 3 it is. I was really excited to see this album on the list, seeing as I love thesingles from it. Time to Pretend, Kids, and Electric Feel absolutely slap, and, in my opinion, they carry the rest of the album. The second half of the album is unremarkable. Not terrible, but quite forgettable. TLDR; the singles will forever be in my rotation, but I'm skipping on the remainder of the album.
I have fond memories of listening to this album on a boombox around campfire at a festival.
Ground-breaking emotional gothic and dramatic. This thing shaped so much music and theres so much emotion put into this. Best of all, its so serious in its weirdness. The album cover captures it perfectly. They're saying, "Yeah it's fun, but its deadly serious, it's silly, but its not a joke". MGMT has a commitment to making abstract and emotional music and never apologizes for it or tries to justify it. This is a rock solid musical statement and it deserves all the praise.
~nostalgia again~
I generally like the MGMT songs I hear on the radio or in bars/restaurants. I think they have a pretty unique sound without being inaccessible. With that said, I think maybe I just only like their big hits. Time to Pretend, Electric Feel, Kids and maaaaaaybe Of Moons, Birds & Monsters were all good songs. I've heard the first three before and I like them. The last one was just "heavy" enough for me to like it. The songs on this album that are moodier or quiet don't really appeal to me. They turn the interesting voices and instruments that are their hallmark in to whines. It sort of makes me want to listen to some of their later stuff to see if it's the same. I like a few tracks off of "Little Dark Age" but if it's more of the same filler as this album then maybe it's not worth the time. This album is here for the uniqueness of the sound (which spawned a lot of garbage copies, I'm sure), which is good. It's an excellent combo of indie, electronic, disco, pop and lots of others. I can’t personally have a whole album of this though.
I wanted to like this. Kids is a classic, Electric Feel has one of my favorite uses of syncopation, and Time to Pretend could replace Teenage Wasteland in all future coming of age movies. The non-singles fell flat and left me wanting to go back to the first half of the album. I'll give this another listen in a future time. Would give it 3.5 if possible.
D R U G S Now that I have your attention: Oracular Spectacular catapulted MGMT into music stardom in a way that only few debut albums have done before and after. It's of course all over the place, but having your debut contain not one, but three(!) generational anthems is somewhat of an achievement.
The first half of this MGMT’s debut record is some of the best work recorded during the 00’s. The track list is beyond insane, sprawling with hits and huge anthems that you can’t possibly have missed. That being said, the latter half isn’t bad at all - it’s really quite good. It’s just difficult following in the footsteps of the epic that is the 5 opening tracks.
This is one of my go-to albums for a nice day. Every song is a banger.
Fun album with a fantastic diversity of tracks. A little bored on some of them, but overall, I love this album
Fun nostalgia album
A mixed bag
This is an easy 4,5 I'll give it 5 stars
Forgettable probs a inoffensive 3.75
When this came out it changed my world. There are for sure weak songs on this, and the sound isn't for everyone. But it's for me!! Plus I think a good chunk of the albums on here are "you gotta listen" as someone's favs/vanity project so I don't mind rating one higher when it suits me
BRNG In their defense, I don't believe I heard a lot of their stuff back in the '00s Then again, very little good stuff was coming out in the '00s So, yeah, not for me. Amazed at how many listens their songs get, 1 tune at 425 million, another at 768 million, and a third showing off at 807 million If only Mink DeVille would get that kind of attention... but no, because that is not what makes the young kids happy...
Flash back! Summer vibes.
lovely
Some great songs on here but they don't hit the same at 40. I feel old.
This was fine. I was surprised I knew more of the songs than I thought I would from hearing them on the radio. The singles were probably my favorite songs, but I also enjoyed “Of Moons, Birds & Monsters.” Not sure if this really belongs on the list, but it was alright and enjoyable enough to listen to.
Was cool. Wouldn’t listen to it under other circumstances as I found it a bit repetitive at points and got bored but I still really liked it
the soundtrack to a coming of age teen movie if i ever heard one
I do prefer little dark age but this does absolutely slap.
Don't love it quite as much as little dark age but this is still a really good album
If judged on the ear-worminess of their synth hooks this would be 5 stars, but the back half of the album is pretty boring.
irgendwie schon mal gehört?! kannte Time To Pretend, und der rest tönt schon ähnlich - aber ok. trotzdem/gerade deshalb nur 3/5.
Bein reinhören finde ich nichts was mich sofort packen würde.
Three great tracks and the whole album has interesting beats / production.
I was familiar with a number of the singles, from KEXP, but never really put together that they were the same band. There were times it felt too Animal Collective for me, and sort of annoyed me. But, other times it reminded me of, say, The Pixies and it sort of clicks
I somehow missed this when it first came out. I was either too knee deep into indie & folk at the time (Sufjan, Clap Your Hands, Joanna Newsom) and/or had started to have less time for scraping music blogs and Pitchfork reviews for new music. In any case, I have no nostalgia for this since I didn't become aware of it until years later. But even if my biggest association is the footage of Leonardo DiCaprio dancing like a kung fu fighting dad at Coachella in 2014, this still doesn't really do it for me--when it really should. It's like a poppier Animal Collective or a less rocking Tame Impala - but even when the music is really catchy, they just make me think of LMFAO based on that album cover, and goofy Leo giving me serious cringe with his dancing.
Good surprise!
namby pamby woke nonsense. knew someone who loved these so much he followed them around on tour which is bizarre for such a non entity of a band who have managed a couple of catchy hooks
Given this has 3 of the great tracks of that era on it I was looking forward to listening to the rest of it. I shouldn't have been, but the Electric Feel remains an all time great
Man them singles is catchy, so simple but catchy, can’t take this too seriously, faint hate it
Electric feel Time to pretend Kids
for fun I let AI write my review: MGMT's "Oracular Spectacular" is a vibrant, psychedelic journey that seamlessly blends indie rock with electronic influences. Its standout tracks like "Time to Pretend" and "Kids" showcase the band's knack for catchy hooks and thought-provoking lyrics, making it a defining album of the late 2000s indie scene.
Not as bad as i was expecting ….
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 was ok and part of the list.
Art pop brilliance.
Nostalgíuplata hjá mér. Ipod og AUX þennan veturinn og sumarið 2008. Good shit.
Average
I luv this album sm Time to pretend makes me so nostalgic
I really enjoyed this a lot - pieces of what reminded my of old school rolling stones so much which i LOVED
I like some of this , not too crazy about the vocals. Has a kind of prog/ psychedelic feel
This is quite good. I tried to pretend I've never heard of them. (Tbh I didn't listen to 2000's pop). But found it quite enjoyable. Lots of progressive and psych elements
Not my style
Nope. Definitely not for me.
The album tracks are wildly different to the single tracks, which just gives it a 'filler' vibe
Very good album, forget how many good songs are MGMT 7/10
STANDOUTS: Time to Pretend Electric Feel Kids OVERALL: 4/5; a nice college dorm nostalgia album
A few really great songs.
While the singles are quintessential listening for Millennials and anyone silly enough to want to understand them, the rest was uninspiring. This screams the era of streaming and singles, and not albums, but I probably sound like a crotchety old man. Prolly.
even the big hit has only a hook going for it. never listened to the lyrics before, and now regret it. 'everybody get sad and DANCE!' is one of my favourite silly little tropes & I set a low bar to clear for that kind of song. this doesn't have enough feeling to even sad dance. music: hated. (⌐■_■)
Empty Millennial Optimism was very similar to Empty Boomer Optimism eh? These guys have so many lyrics about how like, A Change Is Coming, but none of it articulates what the change is, and if you try to extrapolate it from the vibe of the album, it sounds like the change is “Doing cocaine with some cool girls and talking about Change”. Terrible.
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.
The 3 hits from this album (Time to Pretend, Electric Feel, and Kids) absolutely eclipse the other songs. But I have to admit, the hits all bang (and hold up). And the other tracks aren’t bad. All in all, this is a fantastic representation of 2000s alt.
Great song to mime playing bass to
classic vibes
Fun hipster yuppie New England band. Dazzling!
Groupe totalement inconnu, à part le morceau 'Kids' que j'ai dû déjà entendre sans vraiment l'apprécier. Le premier morceaux est plutôt intéressant ... autre morceau original : Of moons birds and monsters, mais cet intérêt diminue assez vite. => 2/5
3.5/5
p dang good album that i had forgot about. Combo of molly and acid really did somethin for these guys. A special place in time haha
Liked this one. Fave Song "Kids" 4/5
Very nostalgic. Very summertime
3.5 stars. "Kids" was featured in a FIFA game at some point, which has immortalized it in the consciousness of people who were kids or teens in the 2010s. It's crazy to think that this album came out in 2008, as it seemed to influence the indie rock sound for the next several years. I never really listened to the lyrics, amd they seem pretty abstract that I still don't understand these songs better. "Pieces of What" I feel like I almost get it. "The Handshake" is an interesting song that describes how making a deal, presumably with a record label, results in unfortunate outcomes. It's an interesting piece of indie rock music history.
Unremarkable 4/10
Muy buena vibra y hitazos como Kids
Easy songs for the radio and for memories that won’t last that long
Three of the biggest songs from my middleschool/highschool time. These songs were everywhere. They still hold up and are absolute bangers but the rest of the album is pretty mediocre to not great. I also have not heard anything else from MGMT since so no idea if they are still making music. I guess technically not one hit wonders but more like 3 hit wonders. 7/10
I was a 16 year old little hipster when this album came out, so obviously I was obsessed with it. This is one of those time capsule albums for me. Hearing it just immediately takes me back to that time of my life, driving around with my friends in my used Volkswagen Jetta that was given the name "Caca Dart" by my dad because it was a piece of shit. I'd love to know how many times this CD played in good ol' Caca Dart. Time to Pretend, Electric Feel, and Kids are all undeniable bops, but I also think Weekend Wars, The Youth, and The Handshake are unsung heroes on this album. I would be really interested to know how I would receive this if I was hearing it for the first time today. Alas, I am human, and cannot deny the nostalgia that oozes off this album for me, so it's a 5.
Listened to it last time. Banger album
A lot of old times Classics of psychedelic and eletronic Rock, e.g. "Time to pretend". I will relisten.
I was excited to get this album because I already had a few songs downloaded from it that I love and was hoping to hear more good music but unfortunately I already had the only good ones downloaded
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.
Although I didn't recognize the band's name, I realized as soon as I heard "Time to Pretend" that I'd heard (and enjoyed) them before, but not much more than their three hits ("Time to Pretend", "Electric Feel" and "Kids"). Sadly, the video for "Time to Pretend" is really painful and awkward, and almost makes me like the song less, until I read about how the inspiration for the song and video was from watching baby praying mantises crawl up this model ship in their dorm room while The Clash was playing.... Thankfully, the other two videos aren't as cringe-worthy, although what's with their lost-world-style gang of young white jungle people? "Kids" is by far the best song on the album, and almost gives them a 4-star rating by itself. Otherwise, though, a good/entertaining album, although not as distinctive as I'd hoped after hearing songs other than their hits. I *am* impressed that the album was created by just two guys, kind of like a 21st-century version of Pet Shop Boys (kind of).
off to a great trippy, pop start though I wish the sound wasn't quite as fuzzy. Love the 70s nostalgia in Electric Feel. Worried that the album was taking a dive with the song after Kids but then Pieces of What came on and was happy again. Terrific album: each song feels like a blend of influence and innovation. Only complaint is that the title sounds like it came from Harry Potter.
I recently just go into them. A little late to the party, esp. since I am into band like Interpol, Editors, etc. What an interesting album. It's all over the place in "sounds" but wonderfully cohesive. One moment I hear 80's synth alt disco, then Bowie, now I'm in a early Floydian joy right, but it all sounds totally contemporary. Pretty darn amazing. There's a serious Flaming Lips vibe to them, though they obviously are NOT FL-rip offs. They are just in the same space.
Great dance album
This albums had marked my adolescence
3.5
This is a great album that was not followed by similar greatness. I don't know what happened to MGMT. 5/5
skemmtilegt. slagararnir góðir. 3,5.
Great listeb
The big songs are big for a reason, but outside of those it’s a mid to bad album with some really low moments. The big 3 is really what saves this from being lower.
This album is impeccably produced and is just such an incredible vibe. There's so much character and influence in here that I pick up on every new listen. You go from a generational track like Time to Pretend, which feels unique and special to MGMT's style, straight to Weekend Wars which feels like something off a Bowie album. A few are snoozers and they're still figuring things out, but man this album is just awesome. Favorites were Time to Pretend, Weekend Wars, Electric Feel, and Future Reflections
They would go on to do greater things (Congratulations and Little Dark Age), but the hits hit and the deep cuts are pretty good too. Favorites are the three obvious ones, Weekend Wars, and Of Moons, Birds & Monsters
Maybe you had to be there.
3 stars for Time to Pretend being a certified banger. The rest is mid
Cool poppy album with some huge hits on it
Interesting dilemma... I've always thought there was a tendency for people to vote for newer albums and bands that they grew up with and loved- recalling memories of happier days etc etc rather than some crusty old album by a band they'd never heard of. On the other hand this album is so uplifting and choc-full of ideas. Not the most innovative or deep but hell it's fun to listen to.
Already listened to :) very good
Pretty good for the type of music, with some familiar songs.
A college classic for me
I'd heard most of these songs and enjoyed them.
i thought it only had albums up to 2005 ??? this ones got some bangers on it no doubt at least a 4 already yea this album is pretty good
Carino, fruity, elettronico, pop, giovane, divertente. Mi irrita molto però il suono (non so come definirlo) della prima canzone. Sento solo quello, sarà per colpa di tiktok. Tra un 3 e un 4 per un pelo non darò un 4. Riconosco la bravura nel crearlo, ma non me la sento di dare un 4, non mi prende troppo.
The hits hit but everything else is forgetful.
This album is practically the soundtrack to a specific part of my life. It's a bit of a bummer the band thought of it as their sellout album. Absolutely love it, even the more out there tracks.
Clearly some level of songwriting prowess on display, some great moments, absolutely REEKS of high school for me
Perfection! 2 of my favourite songs of all time on here and the rest is dope
paar goeie nummers, maar niet genoeg... enkele deden me denken aan syd barrett, wat altijd een plus is, maar deze kunnen de plaat niet redden
Wow, really good! I didn't fully appreciate MGMT when they first came out, but going back now is surprisingly delightful.
This one is interesting. When the songs “hit”, they “hit”. The ones that don’t aren’t disappointing, there is just a separation of likability. Having 4 charting songs on an album can’t be denied and liking those songs merits a higher rating than my “norm”. I will give more of their stuff a listen. It has an enjoyable mix of radio, obscure and deep songs to make me wonder more about them. Choice cut: Time to Pretend
How would I describe this... psychedelic electro rock. Either way, I like it!