Reviews (page 10 of 14)
I’d never heard of this band, liked the 1st track, “ Time to pretend” - I’ve heard this before, probably on Radio6 - plus “kids” Not much else happening here for me
6/10 2026/1/2
very much 2014 it sorta caught me off guard this being released seven years previous. it's not something i'd listen to on daily basis but it's very fun, like a mix of foster the people and twenty one pilots ? reaaaally liked of moons, birds and monsters the last three songs are fire
Already knew two songs from the album before listening, was a bit surprised by the different sound from the other songs in comparison, I liked to look into the texts too
Better than expected, i judged the cover.
*2007. *Fun, catchy album with all their big hits (Electric Feel, Time to Pretend, and Kids). *I would really dig this album if someone without the electronic sound covered it. *RATING - 7/10
Rock. Electronica. Pop. Again. Rock is a real stretch for me, but they (okay, more likely their parents) were obviously big Bowie fans, and it shows. I give them a little extra credit because the duo composed all of the tunes, played all of the instruments, and did all of the arrangements - which is very impressive post-2000. But at the end of the day, they're a one-album wonder with pop hits. It's very good music, but has all the soul and emotion of a Brittney Spears greatest hits album. Influence 2. Hits 4. Quality 4. Intangibles 2. Liked it more than I thought I would 3.
Ne můj úplně nejoblíbenější žánr. Ale vlastně mi to přišlo fajn. Překvapilo mě, kolik písniček z tohohle alba znám.
3.3/5 Stars Top Songs: Electric Feel, Kids, Time to Pretend
Unsure, I've heard a lot of these songs without knowing
Thought I knew fair bit but legit knew 3 off it lollllll Don’t think I enjoyed a single song that wasn’t one of those 3. Rly thought this might be an album I grew to love but nope x
This album is a pretty good album, i have a lot of memories connected to it. both good and bad, the album is a perfect album for the summer. it reminds me of the perfect summer day, not too hot with a perfect little breeze.
Decent 3
Not on the current list anymore, so I pass this one.
not really a genre i would dabble into,though there’s a certain magnetism this album provokes-maybe it’s nostalgia,electric feels has a way to open a window into a pre-covid summer.
знайомі пісні деякі, дуже легке але не запам'ятовується
good album, some songs more relaxing than i had anticipated based on what i had already heard from it (time to pretend, kids) however overall great sound 7/10
I enjoyed the well know hits from this album, but the rest was sort of meh.
Meh
mid sorry faves: time to pretend, electric feel, kids new discoveries: none album art: my fav mgmt cover i think it describes the feel of the album very well
Not my genre a few good songs but nothing special.
Great sound and a few great tunes but ultimately a bit valid.
Mixture of hits and misses. Was good to listen to some songs I’d forgotten about.
Lotta 2/5 star indie tracks where if they thought it was really good they added a fuckton of synths
Reminds me so much of high school…the sound, the songs, everything.
funnnn (i knew multiple songs already)
This was ok I guess. Didn’t set my world alight but there some songs on there I liked, mostly the ones that I knew.
my stupid ass: ‘do i know much from mgmt?’ me two seconds later: IM FEELING ROUGH IM FEELING RAW IM IN THE PRIME OF MY LIFE
This belongs very firmly in the mists of the early 2000s. It should stay there (apart from the opening track)
Some of the songs I maybe over-heard? They aren't bad but it felt like a chore at points. I'll upgrade it situationally?
Not my kind of music unfortunately but I did really like their lyrics.
More standouts than your usual album but the high pitched voices were super grating at times and it didnt work unless a song was spectacular. Wouldnt listen in full again. I enjoyed the vibe though
I like it! I was, of course, familiar with their hits, but I found myself enjoying their other tracks just as well. Not something I would listen to regularly, but it's a fun listen on occasion.
As much as Kids and the first track are quite bangers, the rest was uninteresting to the point of me removing one star from my mind while thinking about the rating. I mean, yeah, cool, I enjoyed this album but yeah its nothing that special besides the hits. Also kinda funny how A Minecraft Movie used such a vulgar song for their movie, interesting. Kids is a classic.
5/10
Decent pop/dance record. Probably innovative for it’s time, but seems a little boring at this point.
The hits are great but the album does tail off.
Album gets carried big time by 3 songs: "Time To Pretend", "Electric Feel" and "Kids". The rest of the album is okay, some real duds mixed with some decent but forgettable songs. Overall the album itself is decent at best, but the highs on their own are legendary. 8/10.
I've never listened to anything apart from the singles of this album. One of those, Time to Pretend, I won't mind if I never hear again, but the other 2, Kids and in particular Electric Feel, still bring a smile and make me wanna dance. Add to those one new-to-me song, Of Moons, Birds & Monsters, which I quite like after a couple listens, and this is a solid 3.
Aging 20 somethings sing about losing sight on their own youth…. In a good way.
Nothing else reminds me of being 20 something than this album. Do I want to go on that trip down memory lane? Not many standouts besides the three huge singles. The Handshake is good. Don’t mind Future Reflections. 3/5
I like electronic music, or maybe I don't? The synth-pop side of early new wave used the alienating sounds of synths to make robotic alien music, Kraftwerk, Devo, Gary Numan and it was great. Blondie and Eurythmics and lots of others kept the synths and mixed back in the humanity and fun, plus house and techno go totally alienating but at the same time sensuous. And then it all gets mushed up together drowning in soundalike synths and processed cookie cutter singers like everyone's in daycare mixing every paint colour together and pop all turns into brown paint (I may be cutting some corners here, this is an emotional history of 80's music, still my favorite era) so that by the 90's we desperately need the revival of alt music and anything anything more real, but too late for me, I'd pretty much stopped buying new music and retreated to my high school vinyls. So that for me listening to my first MGMT album is kind of a puzzler. Thanks for the lived life background wiz-kid and korirock, that helps make sense of them. This album is full of great songs, and I know I would have loved them if I'd grown up with them. Hearing it now, it's like fuck, these are expressive songs full of passion in the writing, why is it all programmed to strip the passion right back out, I'm dying for a little analogue here to balance out the inhumanly perfect and boring beats, or just commit to the alienating sounds your making and go hard with them? Then again, I wanted to check where they've come to - the first track of Loss of Life I thought that's a perfect little childhood merry-go-round tune played with an ironic 80's midi sound -brilliant! Then they go full analogue for the next 5 songs and I practically vomited. Careful what you ask for. I loved the video of their live Kids. That made sense of these guys and I like them again. I'll keep listening to find out how they got from there to here.
I can see why this album has a lot of good reviews. Though it did not resonate with me that match, it does contain a lot of different and interesting things. 7/10
Solid. I added a couple songs to my playlist and I’ve heard a lot of them. Good album, very fun and high energy. Would listen again.
Liked it more than I thought I would - classics are the classics but the ones I am less familiar with I enjoyed more!
Two bangers. 1 very good and then some strange.
Better than I remember.
Interesting album. Musically, I feel like it could have come out 20 years prior to its 2007 release. Too pop/synth for my taste so nothing I'd seek out again, but I did like the album.
Enjoyed this more than I expected. The first half is much stronger than the second.
It's not a bad album but this band/group is so overrated.
Starke Singles, hat mich aber nicht durchgängig abgeholt. Vocals etwas unspektakulär.
Catchy lo-fi indie rock. A mix of influences are readily apparent, most notably Bowie and psychedelic-era Beatles, but this album is definitely something unique and original. The music has a playful complexity to it, as if seeing how many different sounds they can layer in without clashing with each other. In that, they succeed. A new sound comes in every few seconds at times, but they never seem to get in the way of one another. As busy as it is, it all feels intentionally crafted. The hooks and harmonies are catchy, if sometimes things get a bit noisy. As the album progresses, things get less complex, and veer off in a more shoegaze direction, which is less interesting than the front half of the album. Also, they really seem to hate the idea of working in an office.
I mean the hits are great, but some pretty mediocre stuff in there as well
They're fine at what they do, but they aren't my scene
I recognized more of this album than I thought I would. There's some fun tracks
How can this be cool and annoying at the same time?
Kids, and 9 songs not as good as Kids
I liked this one! Some songs I was familiar with (e.g. Kids), but without ever having been aware of the band. Might revisit. 3/5
Mainstream
If you’re wondering what hippies did after hippy died, the answer is they did this kind of thing. It’s mostly tuneful, often very hooky synth pop with a kind of faux low fi vibe. The generally meaningless lyrics sound like they might have come from a prompt card or cut up process in Eno/Bowie style. If you know what ‘Black gold in claw foot tubs unchanging’ means then I guess you’ve found your people. I think this is what Marc Bolan would have done if he’d been born in the 80s, or maybe what Bowie’s 1969 album would have sounded like with different technology. Listen to the intro to Pieces of What and you’ll get my point. Charming without any dangerous depths. Fun fact: the recording features a light controlled synthesiser called a Thingamagoop.
Very interesting band. Album is full of good songs. Kids is just a classic. Some anarchists tunes, defying the sysyem, but at the same time, admitting that we're "fated to pretend". Highlight: The Youth.
Better than I remember. The singles on this took over the airwaves in the late 2000s. I remember being simultaneously annoyed by these song AND getting hammered and dancing to them at 4 am with a bunch of friends. Not bad! 3
I love kids!!!!!!!
Relatively enjoyable
its ok
Reading the artist description on Spotify, I was pretty sure I was going to hate this. Usually when someone says something stupid like "if you don't like this you're objectively wrong" its something obnoxious. So I went in pretty skeptical. But when the first track hit, I was on board. Time To Pretend was a bit noisy, would have likes some smoother music than the electronic mess it was, but the words were amusing. And it was pretty catchy. Weekend Wars had nice music. The rest of the album was a bit repetitive, but not terrible. Of Moons, Birds & Monsters had good guitar work. Overall a fairly decent album in a genre I normally don't listen to much. Solid. Best song: Of Moons, Birds & Monsters
This is what I mean when I say "coworker music"
Ok album with a few known one hit wonders. Meh.
Not my thing, but not annoying either.
I've owned this CD pretty much since it came out for whatever reason, but I think this is the first time I've actually listened to it as an album? And having done so, Electric Feel is still a banger (and to a lesser extent Time to Pretend), but a lot of the rest of it just felt a bit like "Okay, which 70s act are we doing an impression of now?"
Nice of the generator to provide me with fun and listenable music for a change.
This site has become a test on how much 70s music I can listen to on a week's time. So anytime I get a break from that I'm excited. Another album that's full of easy listenings. Solid listen
A few songs on this album have been so overplayed it was hard to listen to them (Kids, Electric Feel). That being said, I had never listened to the whole album before despite growing up with it. I liked the beginning songs but after Kids, the songs got weird. Solid 3. Favorite Song(s): Time to Pretend
I was pretty drunk last night and in the hot tub, so maybe the vibes were just spot on, but I quite liked this. Nothing too spectacular but there’s some originality here that I find missing in other similar-sounding bands. 3.5
Boy, do I feel ancient seeing this is almost twenty years old. The big hits (Time to Pretend, Kids, Electric Feel) still really hold up. I also really appreciated the modern psychedelic twists like on Of Moons. The more acoustic stuff is just fine.
This might be the most horse drawing meme album ever. Starts strong with their dance-pop singles, then really peters out. Still a good, nostalgic listen
Good
3,2/5
It’s hard to believe anyone could rip off the cover of a Houmous and Chutney album and get away with it. These kids - they’ve got some balls on them! That was the name of the Houmous & Chutney album 3.4 5/10 - Kids
late 2000's pop. A few good songs. Meh. Pitchfork: 7.0 Rolling Stone: Top 500 albums #493 (2003 - not on current list) Best Songs Time to Pretend Electric Feel Kids
Very nostalgic, but over all a bit meh
Largely built around the three singles but to be fair, cracking singles they are. Very stylised but can’t deny it sounds fantastic, production levels through the roof. Maybe not one I’ll revisit too many times but it’s very well done.
Decent
Poppy early 2000’s
I thought I might give these a 4 after the first 5 tracks but then it went downhill so it is a 3 they were ok might listen again see if I like them any better.
Aside from the big track off the album (Kids) which I was familiar with due to it's popularity when I was in school, this is a fine but overall pretty forgettable album.
It's a fine listen, but nothing stood out to me, really.
I never realised just how much this sounds like it was influenced by Arcade Fire.
A couple of Really Good songs and a lot of mid ones
Zum Nebenbeihören ok!
Surprisingly diverse album. Not just your typical dance/pop album.
# 603 : Oracular Spectacular Oracular Spectacular - Background music for a neon-lit house party Oracular Spectacular is an enjoyable listen, no doubt. MGMT bring originality to their sound, and there’s a decent amount of musical diversity throughout. But once the glitter settles, it’s clear this is a party album—catchy hooks, big choruses, and not much staying power. The three hits are undeniable. They’re massive, they’re memorable, and they were played to death at the time. The rest of the album? Bland, but not offensively so. It’s well-produced and occasionally interesting, but doesn’t hold up to the strength of its singles. Best Track (if you must): Electric Feel – a synth-pop banger that still grooves. Honourable Mention: Kids – infectious and nostalgic, even if it’s been overplayed. Verdict: A party band with a few massive hits and a lot of filler. Fun, but fleeting. Closing thought: Spectacular? Not quite. Oracular? Maybe. But mostly just background music for a neon-lit house party.
A couple of decent songs. This album is older than I thought, but Time to Pretend does feel like its been getting radio airplay for what seems like forever.
3 cos of the coupla good tunes which are good
I could have swore I’d listened to this album quite a bit but I didn’t recognise a single track outside of the hits. It’s fine. A lot of padding around the bangers.
"Time To Pretend" was my party anthem at the start of college, in particular the original recording from 2005. Perhaps I've become an old man, because I had a bit of a headache after listening to the whole album. Part of it is the production which is an absolute wall of sound. The drums sound clipped in nearly every track. It's a glut of pop electronica, and mixed with some of the falsetto harmonies, it's like an ice pick chipping away at my brain. But nothing is meant to be subtle here. It's an album for partying, especially with millennial indie classics like "Electric Feel" and "Kids". The lesser tracks shift into some weirdness, sometimes like a Flaming Lips knockoff (see "Weekend Wars" or "The Handshake") or an Animal Collective cover band ("4th Dimensional Transition" or "Future Reflections") or even an annoying Daniel Johnston impersonation ("Pieces of What"). These songs aren't bad, but my god the production is so overblown everywhere. There is no space to breathe. As a whole, it's more like a collection of singles than a cohesive whole. Better to listen to these songs in isolation than all the way through. Party on.
Eipä olisi tullut ajatuksenkaan tasolle kuunnella tätä levyä ilman tätä palvelua... Yllättävän hyviä juttuja tulee ja tämä on yksi niistä. Hitsin hyvää meinikiä ja soundeja. Muistan osan biiseistä ajan elokuvista ja varmaan mainoksistakin? On kiva levy.
Some good high points, but a lot of mid in between.
Bisschen nostalgie kommt auf. Mika sagt 5 sterne. ich find 3,5-4
Kinda like it - not sure if is emotional or musical
GOD I want to be a Millennial so damn bad. I would've been the main character in a business casual fit at the club with some of these songs. The hits are still bangers and positively laced with nostalgia. Much of the rest of it is largely forgettable, and a little too trying-too-hard-to-be-deep at times. I give this a solid 3.5.
Two great singles... Not much else.
Getting flashbanged with meme songs this whole album
It’s a decent album but I guess i’m not affected by the nostalgia factor for this. There’s definitely stuff I recognise like kids and Time to pretend but those I find hard to take seriously as I’ve only really heard them on Minecraft nostalgia posts on instagram or something and I’m not actually a massive fan of them, they are definitely iconic though. The rest were ok, I liked the synths and electronic elements mixed with the catchy pop time signatures but they were mostly just ok to me. The album cover isn’t great as well, looks like an advertisement for a modern fashion brand or something. Favourites: Weekend wars and that’s it really, there were no bad ones though. Overall, 6/10.
Happy music to bop to. Modern psychedelic/synth-pop.
Prefer their later, weirder stuff
not mad at this
I’m struggling to classify this album into a genre. It’s very electric, with an upbeat rock feel yet has some flashes of punk. I recognized a few of the tracks with the thought of “I never knew who sang this! This is MGMT?!” Although this strays from my normal playlist and there wasn’t a lot of depth to the songs, I enjoyed listening to it.
My streaming service crashed in the middle of "4th Dimensional Transition", which was coincidentally where the quality of song nosedived.
The singles are pure pop perfection. The rest of the album doesn’t quite live up to them though unfortunately.
Synth-pop lees ik. Inmiddels werk ik al zo lang aan de lijst dat ik bij die term nu zolder-beats met zang met een overdreven duits accent verwacht. Maar het hokje is natuurlijk veel ruimer. Dit is meer richting festival-rock. Waarbij de elektronica vooral de energie er inbrengen. De band lijkt lijkt vrij serieus. Het geheel komt uitgedacht over. Bijvoorbeeld....eehhhmmm....ik kan nu al niet meer ophalen wat ik gehoord heb. Tja, ondanks de waardering voor de inzet, kan ik hier weinig anders van maken dan een vergeetbare 3.
Beetje typische artsy-fartsy baroque pop uit de 00s, met heel veel elektronische geluidjes. Arcade Fire achtig, alleen dan af en toe net een tandje gekker, en af en toe iets meer Beatlesque (om het aantal Beatles-associaties nog maar eens op te hogen). Het is soms niet helemaal mijn muziek, al zitten er best toffe stukken tussen. Er staan echter wel 3 kneiters van hits op en die maken het album meer dan luisterbaar. Van "Kids" is zo'n filmpje bekend op youtube, dat ze nog onbekend waren en mochten optreden bij iets van een klassenfeestje. En nu heeft de clip meer dan 200 miljoen views. Dat soort dingen vind ik dan wel weer mooi. Ik maak er 3 sterren van.
Not bad, I had no idea that I knew any of this band's music. Nice surprise.
A classic from the college days. A vouple of really iconic songs nestled in an album with a wide arrange of sound. Some songs dont land, but overall the album comes together to something great and fitting for the times. Overall- very good album
This was alright as it happens.
Other than the hits this sounds like some kind of weird Bowie ripoff. But boy, the hits are great!
Mid album with some standout songs
This is a tough album to rate, personally. The first half feels so strong compared to the second half. Time to Pretend and Kids were anthems of my youth as I discovered the indie genre. Both of these songs and Electric Feel are timeless for me, and the nostalgia attached to them is so special to me. Ultimately, this album is between a 3 and a 4 -- I really didn't enjoy the second half and feel that would deter me from listening through the full thing again, so I will have to go with a 3-star rating.
Take Only What You Need From It 1001 Albums Generator 130 (10/01/2025) MGMT's debut album, Oracular Spectacular, is dominated by three singles that at this point are absolutely massive. time to Pretend opens the album with its huge drums and sliding synth melody. Electric Feel is my least favorite of the three, but its still a good track. Kids is really weirdly emotional and has a great instrumental interlude that I hadn't really noticed on casual listens. These three songs are all truly great and deserve their spot in the indie pop canon. However, beyond the singles, Oracular Spectacular kind of falls flat. There are some good moments, such as Weekend Wars and Of Moons, Birds & Monsters. The latter especially has some really cool transitions and layers, as well as a great guitar solo and a really interesting instrumental outro. Unfortunately, most of the second half of this album is not this good. 4th Dimension Transition experiments but fails and Pieces of What is just boring. I'm not a huge fan of the last two tracks either, especially The Handshake, which has my least favorite vocals on the album. Overall, a really strong first half and pretty weak second half leave me feeling a 3/5. Favs: Time To Pretend Kids Of Moons, Birds & Monsters Least Fav: Pieces of What
Just ok
Interesting sounds. Reminded me a little of Cage the Elephant, Arcade Fire, and Foster the People
6/10
This album reminds us of the power of the EP. Take your best tracks that represent where you are and put them together. Or thay some artist suit the singles driven craze that comes and goes in music, and is back now with streaming amd the ease of playlists. Unfortunately, this is an LP and the non single tracks struggle to live up to the hype of the singles. Knowing how many early iterations there were of songs like Kids and Electric feel, and the time and effort from multiple parties and producers that went into refining these tracks, you have to wonder if more time.could have been spent on the rest of thw album. Likely other albums on here. When its good, its great. But when its average, its average.
Decent background filler. Nice start, second half not as good as first.
Some decent songs but nothing stood out for me. 3 stars or C.
Contains my favorite song from high school. These guys are good at making songs
Do I like this album, or is it just that the hits are recognisable to me? I think the opening Time To Pretend is great, and there are moments I enjoy in a lot of the other tracks. I don't think I actually like Kids, I just know it. Weekend Wars sounds a bit T-Rex or Bolan at times, and I like the vocal effect where it sounds like they're singing in a large, echoey room they use sometimes. Overall pretty good, I engaged with it more than with the albums I give 2 stars to
*Some big hits...lots I remember as sports talk radio/podcast bumper music. *Unique sound, especially for its time, but the mid-tempo stuff feels sluggish at times which can make it get boring.
Schönes Album inklusive Ohrwürmern!
A little poppy for my taste but not a bad album.
In a previous time I would’ve given this album a 4, maybe even a 5. But in the grand scheme of things, it’s not worth that. Three hits amongst several other unnoticeable tracks makes this an album that defines a generation for some but has little to offer for many others.
Every Frat Boy's favorite album and just for 3 songs. Oracular Spectacular is more then just a mouthful of an album title, it is MGMT's debut album and it is pretty solid. Not going to touch on the big 3 songs because that horse has been beat to shit so lets talk about the other 7 tracks. Weekend Wars is a slow but really fun track that honestly deserves more respect, it is a fun "rock anthem" electronic track that just feels great to listen to. The Youth is a very misplaced song on this album and the start of a bunch of questionable picks for this project. It is mostly an indie rock song which is weird on a heavily electronic album, or at least that's how I see this project. 4th Dimensional Transition is yet another forceful attempt to make this project half electronic and half indie rock when the indie rock really doesn't work at all with this duo. This is an electronic group and once they realize that then they are golden, but the indie rock songs are rough and decent at best. Not going to lie completely forgot what Pieces of What sounded like mere minutes after. Of Moons, Birds & Monsters is the only good rock song here because it is heavily electronic in a trippy way that makes you want to sink into the ground. The Handshake is a simple and well executed track that gets the pass because it is simply good, no other reason. Future Reflections is such a let down closer for this project because it does the stupid indie rock thing again, just shows how this album struggles with any sort of identity and instead becomes a very lop-sided game of tug-o-war. I think one of the best ways to sum this up is with the comment @polduan made, "split this album in half and you get two different projects - first one is amazing, the latter just okay."
Starts off good with Time to Pretend - the hit. I think that the rest is pretty good, but I don’t think I’m going to listen to it again - It’s not really for me
While the first half of the album is stacked with iconic songs that still hold up beautifully, the deeper cuts don’t hit nearly as hard, often dragging or feeling a little unfocused. Favourite Songs: Time to Pretend, Kids, Future Reflections. Least Favourite Songs: Pieces of What, The Handshake.
I was underwhelmed.
Album sympa, qui a comme highlight le premier morceau. Ceci étant dit, je le trouve relativement oubliable. Donc c'est un 3. 3.5 aurait pu marcher aussi
Great album, several huge hits in only 40 minutes. Also the nostalgia factor was huge on this one.
It’s a fun album. Good but other than the singles I already know, I think it’s pretty average.
Not my favorite but this has much more potential replayability than a lot of music i've heard from this list so there's that.
3 modern indie classics and not a lot else to recommend. I can see why they never repeated this success again.
MTGM är inte något albumband. De kan konsten att avfyra rökare som Time to pretend och Kids. Men däremellan mest utfyllnad, inte dåligt, men bara inte särskilt minnesvärt. En trea för de två nämnda låtarna.
Svängig elektropop. Klart godkänt.
-OOH GIRL. SHCOK ME LIKE AN EELCTRIC EEL -this was soo fun, certainly not MGMT’s most esteemed album but i think it’s actually a really good introduction to the band -i feel like there were def a few mediocre / bad songs but the good ones made up for them -Favorites are Electric Feel, Kids, and 4th Dimensional Transition
Not my cup of coffee
Lo he escuchado como 5 veces ya, siempre termina siendo música de fondo, pero igual me gusta.
This is not my first listen of Oracular Spectacular, but my first full listen in sometime. I want to like this more. These guys are great so writers and we're definitely in line with the vibe of pop music when this album came out. I guess I think this is a perfectly OK album and deserves to be on the list but doesn't reach any new highs or get out of its own comfort zone.
Definitely some great songs, could not overcome the impression of a singing ghost jangling keys... highlights were electric feel and kids
3 great songs and a handfull of half decent ones. Not really my cup of tea and more than that, not really a strong album IMO
Aside from the trees Just wanting to be haunted I feel mostly meh
Good album
Not sure what I expected but was better than I expected
Fun electronic music. Danced around in the kitchen to a few of these songs.
I dont really like it. But then I start humming along.
fresh and flashy, knew more than one song from... the radio?
Not their best. Decent tho but I don't see the mass mass appeal. Maybe because it has mass appeal I don't care for it, it's too general.
Good
Optimistic street pop from the era that lead to the Obama election. Great production and solid songs.
it was decent but nothing i love or will return to. i knew kids and electric feel beforehand. kids being the song i much prefer out of those two. of moons, birds & monsters is my fave song from this album. i enjoyed it a lot! i’m actually going to add this to my playlist.
Several recognizable radio songs from my teens. Not generally my cup of tea but don’t hate
4 notes into first track: oh thats who this is
Sounds very 2007. I couldn’t tell if it was a unique sound or just the pop version of the “ho-hey” Mumford songs of the time.
There are some iconic songs here but the rest is just tiresome.
Not as uniformly strong as I wished it was. Love the big three, though, which are spiky, electric, and have great pop hooks.
Electronica usually not my jam, but Electric Feel and Kids changed my mind.
Def had some great songs musically. Music reflected the time in the mid 00's. Some of the lyrics got lost in the more atmospheric songs. I would have liked them to be more prominent and clear. They can really put a good beat backed with solid vocals, like in Time to Pretend and Kids. I would have liked a couple more songs in this vein.
This is a weird one to rate - three absolutely spectacular (pun intended) songs that might represent the apex of aughts indie rock, and then a lot of tracks that are sort of...fine? I don't think it's actually great as an ALBUM. I'll admit the back half of this record never got a lot of spins from me even when it first came out so it was sort of like listening to it for the first time. Weekend Wars is probably the "best of the rest" for me. I do like the production and sort of the proggy psychadelia of it all but but it just feels like there is too much filler.
I can’t think of a song better deserving of being called an “anthem” more than time to pretend. What an opener. Despite loving the singles, I never have really listened to the album. And weirdly, it didn’t do much for me. It’s almost like the three singles latched onto me when they were released and I’ve enjoyed them for the last 15ish years, but my tastes aren’t the same anymore so anything new kind of bounces off me. Weird!
It was alright - I liked the noises, but felt like I was in top man buying a shirt to go clubbing.
7/10
I mean, I've heard the opening single a billion times. It's fine! I like it, although I've never particularly sought it out. Oh, yeah, and here's Electric Feel. Yup. And Kids, yup. Yup yup yup. I actually really liked Of Moons, Birds, & Monsters, too, but otherwise yeah. I think it's good, but also I don't feel super drawn to it.
Quite fun but not sure I'll listen to it often. 3.5/5
Yay! A newer album. Knew the hits but not the rest of the album. Not bowled over but not dragged down, either.
Fun album
It was okay. There were a lot of songs that I recognized from commercials. So, that was cool to hear them in their entirety. It was kind of bland, though.
Eh
This album takes me back to a very specific time and place. There are some real bangers that still hit, but I didn't feel the album as a whole stood the test of time.
interesting jolly poppy stuff
Good
The songs that likely charted are still fun to listen to.
I liked their music and style but it wasnt for me. I enjoyed having them as background music while i was painting, but i didnt add any song to my playlist
Good modern indie pop album.
Just like that I'm waiting tables in college again
I forgot how undeniably catchy some of these songs were, and I liked hearing the ones that weren't ubiquitous singles, too.
Je to skvělé, poslechnu si určitě další alba. Líbilo se mi The Youth, Electric Feel a Kids.
not bad rate 3.5 if possible
I loved the energy of the album!
Really funny that the three singles from this album were written as a joke to parody late 2000s pop music and they became three of the best pop songs of all time. Rest of the album is new for me and is pretty ahead of it's time as Psychedelic Pop/Rock had a resurgence in the last few years, but doesn't hit as hard as the singles. Of Moons, Birds & Monsters was pretty good though.
There are tracks on here that everyone's heard at least once. It's trippy and feels kind of like an out-of-body experience when listening to this entire record through. It's got great production and head boppers, then before a track ends, the mixing gets distorted and messes with your head and in a good way too. Favourite Track(s): Electric Feel, Of Moons, Birds & Monsters Least Favourite Track(s): Pieces of What
Electronic melenium Pop. Ranked 494/500 best album according to Rolling Stone.
It’s a good Album, refreshing and easy to listen. Sometimes vocals and melodies can get too repetitive, you know what you’re getting after a couple of songs, however the synths and guitar parts save the record.
Some of my favorite songs of all time are on this album. Love the MGMT sound. But the hits are hits and some of the misses are pretty boring in comparison.
Listened to about half of it so far. I recognized a few tunes and already have these tunes in my collection. Album as a whole is OK.
Nice pop
Suddenly you hear "Kids" and you think, "Did they make this?" The album instantly improves. "Kids" isn't on my playlist yet, but that's about to change...
MGMT was very mucha flash in the pan and the songs are incredibly derivative, but these guys can write a goddamn hook. Not to mention that “Kids” and “Time to Pretend” hold a real special place in my heart because of how they coincided with my own coming-of-age out of college and into adulthood. It’s not the best, but it’s also not the worst.
Not bad. Reminds me of my year abroad, but I think other than that, I would probably just pass over this.
This was more psychedelic than I thought it would be. Good trippy bohemian style pop. The 3 singles really carried the album, with the other songs seeming mostly muted, especially at the end.
Indisputable bangers on this one, but not really my thing overall
MGMT is one of those bands I heard in early middle school when I was “beginning to discover music” and while I think it definitely influenced me, I have no desire to bring this back into my life. It just doesn’t hold up. That being said, whatever they’re doing nowadays with shit like Bubblegum Dog rules
I enjoyed this album more than I thought I would. Saved 2 songs.
While I certainly do know the two big hits, I had never listened to this album. It’s decent pop. Some similar sounding tunes.
Ganska kul album. Höga toppar, ok mellanspår. Rolig ljudbild men tappar när det blir för flummigt och såsigt. Singlarna svinbra och hållit över tid. Andra halvan tappar en del. Synd de inte vågar gå mer ”kommersiellt/poppigt ”. Bästa spår: Kids Betyg: 6 av 10 (ev 5,5 egentligen)
Now that was interesting. I of course already knew MGMT from my youth - "Kids" and "Electric Feel" were everywhere when I moved to LA in 2010 - but I hadn't actually sat and listened to the album. The album itself has a remarkably different sound than the three headline acts (including Time to Pretend). While those three have an electronic, indie-pop sound, the rest of the album is MUCH more accoustic, much more thoughtful, almost melancholy. Kind of a mix between shoegaze and folk. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure that it works cohesively - it feels like the band was shotgunning stuff at the wall to see what stuck. The result? Three all-time bangers and a full album that is never greater than the sum of its parts.
I really liked this 17 years ago, but it hasn't held up after repeatedly hearing it for all these years. It was definitely innovative at the time though. I think I've moved on from the content too.
Sometimes you are just two songs, and that’s fine.
Throwback to high school. Enjoyed the album as a whole, will probably only return to the 2 liked songs: Time to Pretend and Kids
Had a couple of good songs, but wasn't my cup of tea.
Fun album, but nothing really special. I like the tracks with short catchy Synth lines, like Time to Pretend. I think I'll listen to that one again, but other than that I don't think I'll replay this one very often.
Solid album.
Some early aught hits , not too bad
———————————— A low 3 or a high 2, so…3 My non-musician scoring system. 5 - Love it. Would play anytime, buy, see live… 4 - Good music. 3 - Average playlist. Depends on time and setting. 2 - I can’t listen to whole songs. 1 - No.
Fine.
Nothing too spectacular
bonzinho
Time to Pretend and Kids are standout tracks, tracks that preceded the album by a couple of years though. I never got into the album itself at the time, still not my cup of tea, and much preferred the follow up Congratulations.
3 stand out singles but the rest was pretty meh.
2.9
Couple of fun ones
I bought this on iTunes! Kill me now. My local bar plays it constantly. This feels like the soundtrack to Gossip Girl. Xoxo. Pretty up and down album that endures.
I'm mean its fine isn't it. you can see why the singles were the singles, they were a good bit better than the . Its not amazing, but its certainly not bad.
I did not use a private Spotify session for this one. I have heard a few of these songs on the radio, a lot, but have never listened to the album. It's music with a good beat, interesting lyrics, but leans way too keyboard heavy for me. I am fine with just hearing these songs on the radio without playing the album.
A lot of unique and interesting variation in between songs, Moon Birds was OK too, I think I'll go with a 3 here
downloaded electric feel, time to pretend, kids and of moons, birds & monsters. a few classic millennial songs on here. i still like frank oceans version of electric feel bettee
Decent - their later ones are better
There are three hits on them and they are bangers - pop perfection. The rest is OK but feels a bit like filler. All in all, a fun album.
A lovely throwback to a band I found very mid.
As someone who grew up in the 2000s, I obviously know Time to Pretend, Electric Feel and Kids by heart, because they have been all over the radio in 2008/2009. I do feel like they are all part of the canon of 2000s commercial pop hits, that are also just really good songs. However I did not listen to the album, up until now, even though I am a pretty big fan of Little Dark Age. This is a good album, even though the drop in quality between the three hits and the rest is obvious.
Actually a pretty good effort... sort of reminds me of early David Bowie...surprisingly... the two guys in the group say they have the Talking Heads in their blood... but, i heard NONE of that... lol... but, i did hear Donovan... and T Rex a bit... modernized with sampling of course... fairly strong tunes... "kids" being the "hit"... but the record peters out at the end... four stars... a score that could be five if you are under 40... and three if you are over 60...
It’s fun, I love their sound, but there was nothing standout beyond the songs I’ve already heard
I've never sat down and listened to this record, but much of it is familiar. I don't generally love an over emphasis on synthesizers and drum machines and what not, but this record does all of that really right, and there's at least 3 tracks on here that I already revisit somewhat often. For me, this record is creeping up on a 4-star rating because I genuinely really enjoy parts of it and will listen to those tracks again. I think I give it a 3 because there aren't quite enough of those to qualify it as a hard 4, but this is probably my favorite record presented in 1001 so far, with the exception of Wish You Were Here, which is a hard 5 star record.
Some absolute, world level tracks that made a huuuuuuge splash and still resonate today....but surrounded by relatively mid content. This album feels like it looses steam on a front to finish play-through. Trim the second half and you might have a five star EP. 3.5 stars.
Reminds me of Arcade Fire and Foster the People. I really like the first half but then it falls off after that. I definitely prefer their later Little Dark Age album.
It's interesting, I like it. 3.5/5
This is one of those albums where I recognize why people might like it. It’s well made, can be catchy, and has a high production quality. But… it’s just not for me. Kind of feels too clean? A lot like the rich kid who wants to be indie and gets really into raves? I found myself more interested in the filler tracks and wanting to turn off the singles.
Like the vibes, quite fresh Fav song - Kids 3/5
AVRG
Killer front half, forgettable back half. I do like synth-pop and I recognize their impact on modern synth-pop but I'd imagine their other albums are better.
Greit nok
Вполне норм, но такая, легонькая электронщина попсовое Не мое немного
130/1089 - Well it sounds like pop music. I read that this album was made "ironically" which I call total bullshit on. You can't do things "ironically," that's just a smokescreen for doing what you want to do without others judging you. Maybe you can start things out ironically, but putting that much effort into releasing an album definitely takes willpower and some genuine love and respect for what you decide to record. I obviously am putting my own experiences and viewpoints into writing this but I am so sick of irony permeating society and the people I interact with on a day-to-day basis. Got off track from the review, well made pop music but not really my thing and seems frontloaded.
3.5
This album was very solid. The first track, Time to Pretend, was probably my favorite, but it was truly hard to choose the best song from this album. It brought back a nostalgic feeling in me (which is odd because, to my knowledge, I didn't know of this band and/or album prior to this listen). The music was great, the vocals were soothing, but it was the lyrics which really made an impression on me. This album was creative and a breath of fresh air.
2.5/5.0: Mixed
liked this more than expected based off of the singles
So I didn't know who these people were but I knew the first and fifth songs, and they're not absolutely amazing but they're pretty nice. The rest of the album was alright, and it was okay playing it in the background, as it is fairly chill.
Meh GMT
Album cover is meh. 1. Catchy. Great song. Nostalgic. 2. Ok. Pretty flat throughout. No ups or downs. 3. Also, meh, overall, generally not making much of an impression. 4. Radio hit. Unique interesting, like song 1. Good beat. Fun lyrics. 5. Their biggest hit I think. Also funky, fun, great beat. 6. Dark. Mysterious. Like it. 7. Daniel Johnston-esque. Reminds me of a country/blues singer I can't place right now. A tempo change! 8. Fun. Tempo changes here and there. Guitar solo. Head bopper. Bluesy. 9. Space oddity synths. So David Bowie. The chorus saved this from being boring. 10. Also good. Fun. OVERALL: the best songs are on side A with two of the weakest songs. 7/10.
Three five star songs and a bunch of 2-3 star songs. Not a bad record but not as good throughout as the standout tracks.
Бодренько так, слушать можно иногда. 6,5 из 10.
Favorite Tracks: Kids Time to Pretend Electric Feel
There’s a few classic songs on here but mixed in with some pretty forgettable ones too. Was interesting to listen through the album as I reckon I’ve never heard the non-singles before. Held my interest but probably nostalgia playing a bit of a role there.
Good electro-pop, but don't know that I'll return to it. Feels like it walked so Tame Impala could run.
A rule of thumb this list has not challenged is that a great pop album (think most of Madonna's imperial run from Virgin through to Music) delivers four great singles. Plus well a load of other stuff. This album delivers three great singles, plus a load of other stuff. Hence three stars.
College era
Pretty forgettable, like most of the music from this decade.
Definitely some envelope-pushing melodies and production. I can't really say that it's as incredible now as it was then, but the band has only continued to expand their sound since this debut. I can definitely see the vision on the album as a whole, even when (in my opinion) that vision isn't realised as well as it could be. Top 5 (no order): Kids, Of Moons Birds and Monsters, Time to Pretend, Electric Feel, Future Reflections Some weaker and less impactful songs, but none that I would consider forgettable. I think if I had become an MGMT fan when I was 14, I'd have been obsessed with this album. Even so, I have to appreciate and respect what this album does. 7/10
The hits were great, classic songs. I didn’t realize it came out when they did. Overall, as a cohesive album, it was pretty solid, not sure why the whole album is on the list, though, for a debut though it’s fantastic.
Some interesting songs here with a rich sound.
3 absolutely top of the heap tracks packed amongst, unfortunately, some really unremarkable filler. I listened through several times to see if I was missing something about the other tracks, and I can’t even recall the songs as soon as they have ended. I remember listening to some of this back when it first came out and thinking, guess I’ll stick with the hits. It still holds true now that I’m listening to it almost 20 years later with intention. That said, Time to Pretend, Electric Feel, and Kids are in a league of their own.
оказалось что знаю три! возможно с половиной! песни, сильно больше чем думала. норм, интересные, но задавленные, долго слушать сложно)
There are some BANGERS here. This isn't my absolute favorite style of music but this is pretty good. "Time to Pretend" I had no idea was by them. "Of Moons, Birds & Monsters" impressed me thoroughly. I think this is a solid 3 album. Liked Songs: "Time to Pretend" , "The Youth" , "Electric Feel" , "Kids" , "Of Moons, Birds & Monsters"
Some songs that went on to become classics, but the overall album is okay.
I'll be honest, I thought I might get into this one more than I actually did. Other than the 3 singles that were everywhere back in my college years, I don't think I had heard anything else off of this album. I suppose I never hated the singles, but in part due to their popularity, and definitely not really being my kind of "sound" at the time, I guess you could say I didn't really like MGMT. I feel like I've heard some random songs of theirs pop up on streaming radio here and there since then, and was actually kind of impressed that I was into them. Again, I think any dislike I had for them was more of me being a contrarian than actually giving them an actual shot. Now, what I do enjoy is hearing the old school keyboards and electronic influence, but what I don't really enjoy is the songs themselves. Nothing really stood out to me while listening, and I guess part of me was expecting more of an outright synth-y assault compared to what I got. I guess its hard to truly judge since I've heard them a million times, but it does seem the band (or more likely the label) got it right with the singles they chose, they do seem to be the strongest songs here. I bet if I gave the album a handful more listens I could probably find some other stuff to enjoy, but overall not much to grab me on a first listen. Much like The Strokes album I reviewed recently, there also wasn't much offensive to my ears to really turn off from the sound. So we'll just throw this album in the pile of "hipster-haunt background music that I don't mind."
Boy, tough album. Has three amazing nostalgic songs, but the rest is iffy. Probably another 3.5, just because I got so bored along it but tough to give an album with 3 bangers a 3.
Iconic songs, but I’m kinda tired of them, not their fault
It was fine background music. Kids is a bop.
A fun one. First half much better than back half.
Once the internet was invented, MGMT were inevitable. Still, if you look at play numbers for the tracks on these albums, the three popular tracks have 10+ times more plays than the rest. Shallow? Fated to pretend? You be the judge. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing. Youth is for the cocky and confident. Mgmt are ok, and were fun for a while, but if you think the youth is starting to change, maybe it's just you getting older. What does all this mean? I don't know, but what I do know is that the second half of this album was ass compared to the first, and I probably won't listen to it again on purpose. 2.5 stars rounded up.
Probably on the better side of good.
Enjoyed this.
Honestly, this whole album was kinda mid. Nothing bad about it, two songs approaching a billion plays, likeable, but kinda all sounds the same.
Vibey but not always my vibe
With the addition of kids it boosts it to a 4 Edit Apr 15 2026: 4 --> 3
Shoutout to Saltburn for putting "Time to Pretend" back on my radar. Solid album! There are some more experimental songs that, while fun for a listen, I probably won't come back to.
Good.
Well executed but not for me
Not a big fan, wouldn't add to library but wouldn't turn it off either.
3.5 - nearly a 4 but the second half isn’t as strong
I like the hits the rest of the songs were not memorable. I don’t even know if I finished the album.
Ikkje så dumt
The hits still hit. Impressive album with compelling highs and inconsequential lows. They captured lightning in a bottle a couple of times on this debut album.
Reminds me of being a Houston hipster in the mid-2000s.
These guys are OK, but not really my cup of tea.
There's a great EP buried in this album.
Generation defining songs followed by some alright tracks
Nice album, apparently the sound of a certain generation?
It kinda falls off in the second half for me, but still, three absolute all-timer singles in that front half.
notes
Perfectly fine, if you define fine as being stuck in a Starbucks for 40 minutes 3/5
Ok but nothing new I liked
Well! This was alright. I could see themes of childhood and fantasy here but I'd need a few more listens to really make something out of it. The sound isn't really my thing, but I think it's because i'm put off by the fact that mainstream rock (ie Imagine Dragons) kind of got colonized by a watered down version of this sound? MGMT of course are much better than Imagine Dragons-- their songs *sound* like something while ID songs are a big nothing-- but in the year 2025 to me it plays a little like car commercial music? I suppose? I just don't have a lot of context for late 2000s to early 2010s indie so I could be wrong. I do love Kids, though-- but its the only song that I had listened to before. I think it's a truly great song. The thing is that right now it's the only song that strikes me as truly exceptional.
Peak mid
Very top heavy album. The good songs are great all the other songs are pretty meh
Nice sounds and the hits are huge but the other stuff is just fine. Transportive to a certain time in my life but as an album it's just ok. In fact, some of this stuff sounds like Hard 'n' Phirm.
I don’t expect to revisit the album again, but I like this a lot more than I expected. Some songs may have replay value.
хз не понимаю, все говорят понимают я не понимаю
2.5.
This was fine - music I already listen to, even. However, as far as being in this list, I thought it was a weird choice as I don't think it stands out as particularly great but then what do I know about music?
красива живот красивы песни хорошие жизнрадостные
Beim zweiten Mal hören hat es mir besser gefallen, aber es fühlt sich eher wie eine Playlist als wie ein Album an