Reviews (page 6 of 15)
Gets a little eerie sometimes but good
Starts out strong with Time to Pretend. Then heads to Weekend Wars.which is also good. The Youth is simple melodies but easy to groove to. Then you get Electric Feel and Kids, two huge hits. These two have been a part of my rotation for years. Also enjoying Of Moons, Birds and monsters Album peter's off in quality after Kids but starting off with 5 bangers in a row is pretty insane.
I knew more than expected
Such a fire album, so good for running and dancing around so fun I made breakfast listening to it
3 monster tracks and some filler
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
-Oh shit I didn't know this song started with fuckin NOISES! -I'm going to be so real Time to Pretend is one of those songs that really does hit me full in the chest whenever I hear it -LOVE these opening vocals for Weekend Wars -Fuck dude this tastes like 2007 -Electric Feel Fmonday -Oh my GODDDD. -Woah 4th Dimensional Transition is so interesting. Would be floaty dreamy sounding with the synths and vocals but the persistent drumming grounds it with an overpowering urgency
Boring Melodies
banger yall already know
This belongs very firmly in the mists of the early 2000s. It should stay there (apart from the opening track)
A fun album that sounds unique while not sounding harsh or completely alien. Really liked this one.
A small view into the new indie sound that got popularized within the 2000s, this record is a landmark and it stands as one of the best from MGMT. Great feel and vibes all around.
Guilty pleasure
Not for me, really thin sound. Just not interesting.
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.
100% A+++ album. Great album, could listen endlessly.
I really enjoyed this album it was very whimsical and sad at the same time and the vocals were really nice
I really enjoyed this album. Of course the hits are amazing but the album is very very good all together. Really like their sound which is instantly recognizable.
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.
This is def a good album to listen to on a plane. All of the songs are very layered, textured, and synth-y. I think I probably like this a lot because some of these songs remind me of growing up because they were big hits in the early 2010s. Along with that vibe though is a certain kind of vocals really popular then (idk what it’s called cause idk anything about music) that’s not my favorite. Fav songs: time to pretend (!!!), weekend wars, the youth, the handshake
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.
3.5
4.5
4.5
Torn between 4 and 5 here. There are only 3 songs I love. Time to pretend is really nostalgic and mixes melancholy with a really happy synthy sound in a perfect way.
5/10
Solid.
Decent pop/dance record. Probably innovative for it’s time, but seems a little boring at this point.
Time to pretend is a banger. The other massive hits are good as well, but the rest is just lacking, I'm not to fond of the vocals affects and sound here. Just feels like something off and doesn't click for me.
Those hits are so fucking good. The rest is pleasant
10/10 for the nostalgia
The hits are great but the album does tail off.
Classic mid aughts hipster pop; you know most of the tunes.
Excellent sound/ I liked it !
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.
gives heavy summer vibes and there were definitely some hits on there
I’ve never listen to Iron Maiden before and now I feel this will be one of my work playlist adding to my system of the down playlist as we speak. I really enjoyed it. I will say, I do picture Jack black as the front man in my head. Lol
Sick album
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.
I've long had daggers for this album because I took someone on a date to a very early MGMT concert, and the date was a disaster. Be that as it was, it's a good record made by a couple of young wankers. They were immature and edgy, and you can make it out on the lyrical edges, "We'll choke on our vomit" etc. And yet the music is both derivative and excellent. They do electro, they do gospel Stones, they do indie funk. There are some legend songs; Electric Feel aged better because it didn't become quite the corporate anthem that Kids did. I love it; I hate it; four stars.
Aging 20 somethings sing about losing sight on their own youth…. In a good way.
Pure nostalgia trip. I was in 5th or 4th grade maybe. My grandma was going through a musical renaissance herself and Gave the Beatles a break for this, Maroon 5 and some Gwen Stefani lol. Yeah, the classics on here, Time to Pretend, Electric Feel, Kids, really are the powerhouse but the other songs are really good, too. I think these kids were in college just playing their shit for classmates. Pretty creative stuff.
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.
Surprised to see this in here. First time I listened to this album and I liked it! Knew a couple of the songs
But a solid 5 stars with the nostalgia factor
First time listening to a complete album from MGMT. If you haven’t seen their famous YouTube video(link below) just before they went big. You can tell these dudes love making music. https://youtu.be/vNC1W2m4Uug?si=ufvYfUyveZxwWN8S
This is a fun album with some ealy 2000's pop. It was really fun listening to this album
I'm conflicted on giving this a 4 or a 5, there are quite a few songs on here that are timeless and infinitely replayable. Time to pretend, Kids, The youth (Really weird but funny music video for this one), and of course Electric Feel. I really really love all of these songs, they have that je ne sais quoi. The back half of the album is good as well, but wasn't as good compared with the first 5 songs. I think its funny how MGMT originally wrote Kids, Time to Pretend, and Electric feel as a sort of joke. Showing the world that pop hits follow a certain formula, and then these songs end up hitting the jackpot in popularity. Shows to go ya that hits really do follow a certain formula to a degree and with enough musical talent, precision and a bit of luck, you can hit it big in the music biz. Also, it kind of sucks that MGMT hates these songs of theirs and don't like playing them, and everyone hates the music that they actually want to make lmfao, (which is way more experimental than the stuff on this album). I think instead of trying to be above the industry and too cool for mainstream hits, they should embrace the simpleness and success of these songs a bit more. Like be happy with your creative endeavors, even if it isn't something you particularly enjoyed doing. IDK, just interesting to think about. 8.5/10
I'm not a pop music fan by any means, but these guys are relatively decent. And I even knew 2 songs out of this one. Probably right in the middle of the road for me, maybe a bit below, but that's just my taste
I really enjoyed these songs, either 4 or 5 stars, the majority of which are 5 stars. Having seen these guys a few times over the years, I can say they are a blast live. And this album is apex MGMT: 5 dancing stars.
I should be the target audience for MGMT but I find them a one-trick pony. Revisiting this album did nothing to change my opinion, sadly. Kids is still a behemoth of a song, but nothing else matches up.
Great record, peak pitchfork indie hipster era.
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.
knew the 1st track quite well, and kids i have a nostalgic love for so that get a star in itself. other tracks i could take or leave really (mostly leave) .
Enjoyed it a lot, Kids, Time to Pretend, Electric Feel, just all round great tunes. Didn't know them all and the vibe changes a bit but still enjoyed
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.
It's not a bad album but this band/group is so overrated.
Pretty fun bops in the background.
Good album and good group. They are very fun and unique.
A couple of good songs … but they start sounding the same after a bit
O, wie ich dieses Album geliebt und gefeiert habe - ich schätze, es war 2008 in meinen Albencharts ganz knapp hinter Portishead und Crystal Castles und vor den Fleet Foxes. Noch immer meine Highlights und Meisterwerke für sich: Weekend wars, the youth, electric feel, of moons … ich komm nicht drauf klar, wie viel Lebensfreude ich aus dieser Platte (bzw. in diesem Fall rausgekramter CD ;)) ziehen darf ❤️ überzeugt auch auf albumlänge noch immer, auch wenn Kids, das Lied, das (natürlich auch ganz groß ist, aber) mir lustigerweise seit jeher am wenigsten auf diesem Album gefällt, in den totalen Mainstream gezogen und für alle Zeiten totgespielt wurde - son ähnliches Phänomen wie Seven Nation army von betrunkenen sportfans auf Malle gesungen … macht jedes Mal ein wenig betroffen
Starke Singles, hat mich aber nicht durchgängig abgeholt. Vocals etwas unspektakulär.
Ooo girl!!! Shock me like an electric eal!!!
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.
Amazing debut album
Very distinct and signature sound
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
Some fun bangers on here.
I recognized more of this album than I thought I would. There's some fun tracks
bangers on this one
This is great, all interesting and the singles are absolutely gold.
One great song; several OK ones.
é um álbum bem legal. eu já conhecia a capa de vista, ja tinha ouvido alguns trechos de musicas aqui e ali, mas nunca tinha parado pra ouvir de cabo a rabo (que é o jeito que eu mais gosto). ele tem definitivamente pontos altos, como por exemplo esse início (que ja é icônico por si só), mas algumas coisas nao soaram tao interessantes pra mim, como "the youth". eu entendo que pra época ele definitivamente deve ter sido um gamechanger, né? a sonoridade deve ter influenciado muita coisa que veio posterior a ele, mas acho que como eu to ouvindo muitos anos depois eu acho que tira e perde um pouco desse elemento surpresa. ele tem umas faixas muito muito boas e que soam muito bem e refrescantes, e acho que ele tem mais coisas legais e que soam muito bem do que coisas que o amenizam. gostei bastante das seguintes: - time to pretend; - electric feel - kids - pieces of what - of moons, birds & monsters fora isso, eu gosto muito de alguns elementos separados das músicas, como "4th dimension transition" que tem uma guitarra meio faroeste que me conquista bastante, mas acho que pra mim é um 4,1 (e depois que eu escrevi isso eu percebi que coloquei quase todas as musicas em playlist... aahhh, a incoerência e a falta de atenção...)
Really excellent album. I'd heard Kids and Time to Pretend before, but the time flew by listening to this.
I wrote most of a really good review of this album but then didn't finish it and left it open on the webpage intending to come back to it but the page kind of updated and my review got deleted which I'm pretty gutted about cos it was really cute but it's gone now so just leaving this bitter message and a four star review
high 4
May seem silly to give 5/5 after the albums we've just had but this transports me back to 2008 and it feels good. The three big tracks are great pop songs that are so recognisable but unique and stand the test of time. I listened to a podcast a while a go called song exploder where each episode they have a guest on to dissect one of their tracks. MGMT broke down time to pretend and they mentioned at the end of the song they added in the piano from abba's dancing queen, now I always listen for that. The other tracks are good too, personal favourites are Of Moons, Birds & Monsters and Pieces of What.
How can this be cool and annoying at the same time?
This isn’t my wheelhouse but I can’t help thinking that I see how people like it. It’s essentially radio friendly music that people who don’t want to listen to music would select or be fed by a streaming service. It’s not great, it doesn’t suck.
This was such a blast from the past - I loved this album when it came out, and it still held up listening to it again today. So reminiscent of a very specific time and scene that I’ve been deeply nostalgic for lately.
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
nostalgia bomb
surprisingly banging, it deserves it
Sounds like high school.
I started understanding why people like this when the album was almost over and now I feel bad for not liking it for the first 25 minutes. It sounds like the kind of music I'd enjoy when I was 14 and into the most Tumblr Gay™ music imaginable while inexplicably being really homophobic, but I'm now non-binary and not really Tumblr Gay™ anymore, just regular gay. That's to say, this is music for closeted 14-year-olds. If you're homophobic and reading this, I know you're probably hiding the fact that you really want to kiss a dude to an MGMT song, and that's okay. I very un-secretly want to as well.
A 2009 time capsule for better or worse. The three hits remain as big as hits as ever and the rest remains the rest. But those are some great hits.
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 thought it would be at the start.
increíble
😬
This album is so fucking great. I forgot how good it was such a time capsule for just a super fun era. I was broke sleeping on couches mostly but we dance with my shirt off at night. I need to go through all the other tunes I was collecting during this time a lot of them on Spotify amazing remixes . This album from beginning to end has such a great flow each song weaves into the next, but are all unique. The production on this is fantastic. It’s so funny that they just had a moment of greatness and then kind of simmered down. I wonder what plays into that the boiling up the moment in time that is captured excitement anticipation, all of it just the magic of a great album and then what happens fame you ride that album and kind of lose your perspective lose what made all that great songwriting possible. Not really harping on MGMT. I’m sure they’re still awesome but this album was especially good.
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
Quite foundational to my early music listening experience
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"
Previously only familiar with a couple of songs that were played a lot on radio. I really liked this, not necessarily what I was expecting. I think I thought it would all be a bit samey but actually a lot of variety here. Nicely produced with hints of that 90s Americana song (I do know that the guy out of Mercury Rev produced it and it shows). But a lot of interesting sounds and sonically just a great listen. I think it would get better on repeated listens too. This is me finally catching up with 'modern music' then realising it's 18 years old 😐
Ok album with a few known one hit wonders. Meh.
Not my thing, but not annoying either.
MGMT’s debut is just an all around solid album. It is stacked with hits, but also delves into a great blend of synth pop and psychedelic music. The second half is noticeably weirder, but I appreciate the pacing of the record. I really don’t think there’s a bad song here.
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?"
Really good album this, and there is a lot more to it than the memorable singles. The quirky electronic indie has aged surprisingly well, only the slightly tongue-in-cheek vocal delivery leaves me a bit cold. Otherwise this is solid, poppy stuff with an alternative edge from start to finish - In fact, listening again for the first time since it came out (I wasn't a huge fan to be honest) Oracular Spectacular is much more interesting and enjoyable than I actually recall it being.
Nice of the generator to provide me with fun and listenable music for a change.
Definitely super into this album. My only real issue is these songs were so massively popular that I got sick of them a few years after they came out cause they got overplayed everywhere. But that doesn’t change the fact that there are 3 MASSIVE hits on this album. And even more incredibly there are hidden gems on this album because the hits overshadow the rest of the album pretty severely. Like there’s even a song that gets mildly psychedelic which is very unexpected. It’s also crazy to me that this album came from mostly just two people. That’s crazy impressive. That being said, I didn’t love all of it. I think the biggest problem with this album is it feels super safe and mainstream. Like it doesn’t feel like they took and dangerous or bold chances. Definitely a solid album regardless.
I had this when it was new. Fantastic album.
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
Good alternative band. Good sound,sound music.
Did not like the first half, but the last few tracks sort of grew on me (specifically, Of Moons, Birds & Monsters).
Brilliant
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
This was such a cool album when it first came out, and I loved how MGMT managed to get recognized by mainstream culture. One of the things that always stood out to me was how psychedelic it sounded, but with synths and keyboards driving the music. They found the perfect balance between being forward thinking while still maintaining that retro, vintage tone and texture in their sound. Even now, some of these songs are still enjoyable, despite all the radio play they’ve gotten over the years.
One of the defining albums of the early 2000’s. Great vibes and love that the psychedelic feel made it back to the radio. Has that Flaming Lips influence.
I remember this album resonating with a lot of people in 2007. I wasn't one of them then and I'm not one of them now.
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
Indie darlings hit it off big time on their debut album.
great album, very nostalgic. more like MLNL
Very nostalgic, but over all a bit meh
I love all the big songs in this album. I can't help it. They're so good. I remember when I bought this CD (I think it was the last NEW CD I ever bought), I fuckin' loved the songs I'd heard, but wasn't crazy about the rest of the album. Upon relistening many years later (and after hearing and loving the shit out of Little Dark Age), I hear this album differently and I like it more than I did. MGMT is a weird-ass band, and it seems like they hone in on a sound they want to achieve and get it. Here they seem to be doing a psychedelic rock thing, along with what I hear as an Aladin Sane-ish Bowie in terms of vocal delivery and guitar. It's a bit too revisionist for me to fully-fully get down with it, but I appreciate how they do what they do. Not a 5, but better than a 3. And the big songs, some of the most Millennial-ass anthems ever, are so damn good. Most Millennial shit I'm like whatever about, but for whatever reason, these ones really fuckin' do it for me.
Bra, klassiker. Kids oslagbar
CLASSIC
Reminds me of good old times. Such a good record.
This album was the epitome of cool when I was a kid, so I still get a kick out of it. It does lose steam a bit in the second half, though.
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.
most of the time i felt like listening to a tv commercial break
Oracular Spectacular is spectacular. It would be impossible for the rest of the album to match "Time To Pretend," "Electric Feel," and "Kids," but the remaining songs are strong and a front to back listen is so rewarding.
it's weird that only in retrospect has this album grown to be a juggernaut of nostalgia for me: i (along with everyone else) was inundated with this album's singles through the tail end of the 2000s. i liked the songs so it was fine if they were a bit overplayed, but i really didn't feel compelled to seek them out when i'd already had my fill (please, no more, my cup runneth over). in the years that followed i began to accumulate disparate mgmt songs that found their way into my life - my online life, really, as that's where i was spending my time in the years that followed. i never did a straightforward front-to-back listen of this album, because it came to me in bits and pieces until, finally, in 2018 they released little dark age and i had the thought "wow, mgmt is good again!" prompting me to get to the last dregs of oracular spectacular. only then, 11 years later, had i ""listened"" to this album. i'm certain my experience isn't unique to my generation, but i can't help but think about how this album grew on me (or rather, grew with me), and how i experienced mgmt gazing into a computer screen. i started seriously getting into music in the streaming era where the concept of "the album" really doesn't matter anymore: albums are fractured, decontextualized, and anyone can sift through the pieces and pick out what they want to take back home with them. heck, my habit of picking out "highlights" from each album is because that's how i've come to conceptualize music growing up on an endless stream of apportioned songs presented to me by the mighty algorithms of pandora, spotify, youtube, and so on. 1001 is the first time in my life i've spent any time seriously considering ~the album~ as a consummate work of art. and oracular spectacular, as a consummate work of art, represents the 2010s for me. it is an album of nostalgic fragments i've haphazardly pieced together navigating the new age of social media as a young person, but if i'd experienced this album any other way, at any other time, i would've never had the privilege of experiencing the profound love i have for this album. if i get in my feelings, hearing kids or time to pretend will make me cry. spare me a moment of cheesy sentimentality, but i can't help to echo back: yeah, it's overwhelming, but what else can i do? i have a job, an office, and a morning commute. highlights - time to pretend, weekend wars, the youth, electric feel, 4th dimensional transition, future reflections
Decent
Poppy early 2000’s
Time to pretend and kids are absolute classics, the rest is good but not great
Awesome in every way. I’ve never not enjoyed listening to any track from this album.
Bangers, but weird memories
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.
I was pretty disappointed with this album. I was expecting it to be more interesting but outside of the hit singles (of which many are "meh") the others just sounded like reverb-soaked bores. I did like the last song and some if the electronics but over all not for me. 2/5
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.
A landmark millennial LP that just never hit for this Xer. The three hit singles aside, as an *album* it leaves a lot to be desired - over half the tracks just feel like filler.
There are a lot of good hits from this album and I also enjoyed the non-hits more than I thought I would. It's a short album, but I'm delightfully surprised.
amazing
Only liked one song
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
The album of a generation, I think. You couldn't escape MGMT for several years, but I personally didn't want to.
Zum Nebenbeihören ok!
This was a fun, nostalgic listen. Just jammy though the singing is a bit meh. Love the smorgasbord of beats and instrumentation. Fave tracks are: “kids” and “time to pretend” but with a few duds in between.
Très bonne découverte ! Trop marrant de replacer Kids dans son contexte, je connaissais ni le titre ni le groupe J'ai beaucoup vibé sur cet album. J'ai trouvé la prof impressionnante ; en plus de la variété des sonorités mises en cohérences de manière très clean, je souligne les très belles basses et les beaux aigus (que ce soit des sons electro très propre ou des chœurs plus ou moins transformés) Une variété de styles dans cet album mais grande cohérence dans l’énergie, à cheval entre un rock alternatif et de l’electro-pop, ce qui allie une intention très authentique presque diy avec quelque chose de très sophistiqué et qui passe tout seul C'est très dansant, très festif, avec quelque chose d’assez deep et nostalgique en même temps. Un truc assez teenage spirit mais encore une fois très soigné (dans le bon sens ! ie pas lisse, juste clean), et assez intemporel je trouve. Vraiment ma vibe, on repart donc sur un 4 !
c'est du lourd. vraiment un mindfuck d'écouter certains sons et de me rendre compte que je connaissais les mélodies, comme ça a été le cas pour Time to pretend et Kids! j'adore le côté électro nonchalant, la voix souvent un peu isolée comme si on avait un merge de deux studios d'enregistrement côte à côte (un instrumental, l'autre vocal)--notamment dans Pieces of what. le mix guitare-basse dans Of Moons, Birds and Monsters m'a bien plu, avec un aspect à chemin entre house dansant et quelque chose de presque disco électro + j'adore quand leur voix part dans les aigus, c'est assez satisfaisant. on est sur un solide 4.4 que j'arrondis en dessous mais c'est vraiment pas passé loin du 5 (après je nuance parce que c'est aussi peut-être en partie dû à la bouffée d'air frais après tous ces albums de rock)!
Absolutely iconic. Genre defining. Generation defining. This album is timeless
I was not prepared for this nostalgia downpour. Electric feel isn't even the best song on this album. Time to pretend, weekend wars, and Kids are so great
i don't know if i've ever listened to this full album before but it really is just banger after banger after banger
A perfect snapshot of late 2000’s indie. For those that came of age around the time these songs hit, this music was utterly inescapable. The songs are vibrant and imaginative, and evoke both skepticism about the world beyond youth, while finding optimism in living in the moment. I enjoy just about everything on offer outside the hits, but there’s an undeniable plateau in quality throughout the album’s second half that never really finds a crescendo worthy of the album’s high points. MGMT’s sophomore album has more consistency and creativity on offer that I personally prefer, but as a debut, Oracular Spectacular is quite the achievement. If you enjoy this, I highly recommend checking out the band’s first EP. There are a couple of overlooked gems on offer in Indie Rokkers and Love Always Remains. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
First half slaps, second half fizzles out
Not many songs I don't love off this album and definitely not my first full listen. First half of the album is packed to the brim with classic 00's hits. Not everything on the back half hits quite as hard but nonetheless this is a classic from my childhood. Always going to be a 5 star for me. Favourites: Time to Pretend, Weekend Wars, The Youth, Electric Feel, Kids Least Favourite: 4th Dimensional Transition, The Handshake Rating 9/10
:)
great great great
it never gets old
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
Hipster wank music - 2 good songs does not a great album make.
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.
Góðir straumar og góð lög
Unaður í eyrun. Toppuðu sig þarna.
"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.
This is a solid album that offers a heavy dose of nostalgia. I do feel like this album sounds very of its time, drawing from the same indie-electro-psych-pop well that The Shins, Band of Horses, Phoenix, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs all seemed to be drinking from. Even so, this is not a criticism so much as a comment on the distinct fingerprint that MGMT and these other acts left on the music of the late 2000s. As soon as I hear the synth warble of Time to Pretend I am transcended back to high school... I actually think this album is one of the strongest out of the gate that I've listened to recently. The first 5 song run is extremely strong. Time to Pretend launches this album out of a cannon with its propulsive stadium sized synths and counter-culture lyrics about fucking off and doing heroin. Then things tune down a bit between Weekend Wars and The Youth. The former of which is a Bowie-adjacent tune and the latter which is one of my B-side favorites about a rebellious undercurrent among the youth. Just such a simple and beautiful optimism. Electric Feel swoops in to remind us that MGMT likes to dance with a sexual electro-funk jam that feels great and has a chorus that is catchy as hell. Then there's Kids, which brings back the stadium sized synths for the album's biggest hit with themes of moderation. The second half of the album is quite a change of direction into spacier, indie-psych tones, starting with 4th Dimensional Transition. Layered vocals sound as if shimmering through some gossamer film and the racing drums with percussion evoke a tribal feel. Buried towards the end, The Handshake is among my favorite here. A song on which they consciously explore their own concerns of "selling out" on the very record they feel like they are selling out on. All said this falls at a 4 for me. An album of two sides, this has solid music front-to-back, but the second side is certainly less memorable.
So happy this album is on here. Certainly some nostalgia goggles going into this one, but I haven't listened in a couple years so I'm excited. This album has absolutely zero misses. Every song is filled with character. The first half has the stronger songs, but I think they might just get more air time as singles. Electric Feel is a top 100 song. Kids might even be, too. Actually Time to Pretend might be better than both of those. Perfect mix of spacey electronic and indie jamming. Wish I could listen to this one for the first time again.
One of those albums that I don't think I have ever listened to all the way through but have 4 songs downloaded onto a playlist. So was happy to see it come up on here. Was very very solid of an album, MGMT has such a unique style to them that is so satisfying to listen to. The songs i didn't know were very above average but I don't think they were quite spectacular enough to get this to a 5. High 4 it is
Time to Pretend is so much damn fun. Obviously the standouts also are with Kids and Electric Feel. Just straight classics if you're a millennial. Weekend Wars and the Youth are excellent complimentary songs on this front half as well. Insane 5 song run. The next couple songs aren't bad per se, they just fall flatter compared to the previous insane 5 songs. Then we come to Of Moons, Birds, & Monsters which might be my favorite MGMT song of all time. The second half is just a perfect ride for me. This album is too nostalgic for me to give anything less than a 5, and with the amount of absolute classics, the rest is above avg enough to give it that for me. That being said I hope we get Congratulations still but I know we won't :( IMO that is their best album and you can tell because it has a song about Brian Eno.
Hmmm. First impression: this music is way too treble-heavy for my tastes. Did this help set the trend for annoyingly tinny pop that seems to have taken over the airwaves as I age into my curmudgeon era? Ah, yes, there are three songs on here that get enough radio play for me to recognize, but I wouldn't say I'd ever ENJOYED those tracks. Meh. Mildly irritating, but I don't hate it. That's a two.
One of my favourite albums of all time: - Absolutely in love with The Youth - especially after watching Kings of Summer: It has such a nostalgic and feel-good vibe about the song, and makes me feel like I'm ascending - Kids, Electric Feel and Time To Pretend are absolute classics, which depict the summer atmosphere so perfectly, I cannot fault these songs and listen to them all the time!! - Weekend Wars is such a unique and distinct song, which a unique melody and interesting lyrics which I absolutely adore!! - Album Rating = 9/10
Wow 2007? Maybe it's because I've only heard snippets of songs but this album sounds very fresh still. Definitely understand it's place on the list!
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.
9/10
Going into this, I already knew and really liked the singles, Time to Pretend, Electric Feel and Kids. First time hearing the rest of the album, and it sounds good too!
Yessir!!!
Some good high points, but a lot of mid in between.
An album I was previously familiar with and had enjoyed. If you're keen on the dreamy indie pop of the standout singles 'Kids' and 'Time to Pretend' you'll enjoy this album. Diverse enough to maintain interest and yet a coherent album. Ahead of its time. Second half of the album wasn't as attention grabbing unfortunately.
The deeper cuts really surprised me here. Very cool
This is a fun listen. There are some unique tunes that remind me of Beck. I would love to hear their later releases to see if they have kept up their game. Overall this is a solid album.
Better than then cover makes it look
Hipster Sparks
Some moments where this is almost good. Some where it isn’t close. It's actually put me off the hits, if anything...
Thought I liked this but gradually went from "this if fun" to "I wouldn't mind if this was on" to "I'm not sure I'd sit through the whole thing again"
Mostly filler. A lot of pretty unmemorable songs
Bisschen nostalgie kommt auf. Mika sagt 5 sterne. ich find 3,5-4
Kinda like it - not sure if is emotional or musical
eu ouvi esse e a nostalgia bateu forte demais. um album feito para minha geração. ouvi lembrando de um tempo em que eu era cheia de esperança do futuro. música é um bicho muito mágico mesmo. pode ser emoção do momento, mas acho que os sentimentos evocados merecem um 5 sim.
No denying the quality and staying power of the big singles. The rest of the album plays nicely, and although not as memorable, certainly not a disappointing track amongst them. Solid 4.
Aside from the mega popular tracks (Kids, Time to Pretend and Electric Feel) the other tracks felt a bit unforgetable.
Took me back to being 16, driving down the PCH to Newport Beach with my besties under the soft morning sun. This album made us face our angst and freedom when we just figuring out how it felt. When an album can take you back like that and STILL hold up as a good listen — pretty banging.
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.
I think it’s funny at times when an artist makes an album that they look back not too fondly on. Often at times that work ends up being some of their most popular stuff, and this one is no exception. It’s always a strange feeling having a strong connection to a particular work and then hear the people who made it not be as passionate about you. This one has what I can consider classics at this point with Time to pretend, Electric Feel, and Kids. These songs in particular have such a particular aura to them that it helps me open that time capsule to being a young teenager again. These songs are what being young and just enjoying what life had to offer sounds like lol. Credit go MGMT for also making Little Dark Age as that was a other album they put out that I think is better than this one, but has a similar impact where when some of those track come on I recall the impact of those first initial listens.
Hello! It is your local MGMT evangelist here to talk about my lived experience. This album, and MGMT as a whole would set the tone for my music tastes between 2012-2018ish. I owe their music quite a bit as it was a pipeline to other bands I really enjoyed during my college years. In the 2010s, MGMT had a CHOKEHOLD on my generation. Their music was literally everywhere, and with good reason. Oracular Spectacular is a delightful album with some certified all timers. Many albums exist that can claim one, maybe two songs that transcend the album to become iconic. MGMT puts up three here with Time to Pretend, Electric Feel and Kids. To be able to even get close to, much less achieve temporal transcendence is enviable. MGMT were way ahead of their time here. I love this album.
Two great singles... Not much else.
Time to Pretend and Electric Feel are solid, rest are meh
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.
Arrancamos la semana con el disco debut de MGMT, banda que relaciono con mis años universitarios y sus fiestas, por lo que me es imposible separarlo de una época bonita y de muchos cambios en mi vida. Gran álbum debut y linda manera de comenzar la semana. Hasta mañana, genchi.
Happy music to bop to. Modern psychedelic/synth-pop.
Better than I expected. Worse than I hoped. While I am glad to have heard... *gestures at album* ...Whatever this is, I wont be giving it a second listen. No songs were good enough for the playlist.
Wow that was dull. After listening to this album, I am confident that MGMT is no one's favorite band, and this is no one's favorite album, and if by chance you're the exception, then you probably organize your condiments alphabetically and apologize for it. I'm amazed that this band performs live. It's got to be equivalent to buying tickets to watch an accountant file a tax return. Calling this band vanilla is an insult to vanilla.
Prefer their later, weirder stuff
Not my type of music
An album I loved when it came out in my early 20s and haven't really listened to it a lot since 2009/10. Listening to it now brings back a lot of good memories and the album is surprisingly better than I anticipated.
465/1001 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑
Great album brought me back
It's as good as I remembered :,)
not mad at this
Hated it
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.
To truly understand the depth of their sound, you must to look closer at the band’s name: MGMT. Clearly short for Management, the moniker is a deliberate abbreviation, leaving a remainder of the missing letters anaeen. This is not a coincidence. “Anaeen" is a well-known name in traditional Arabic folklore, and it refers to a girl who, “possesses a desire for self-expression and social contact”. The story follows the girl as she tries to find her unique voice in the world. The name has become synonymous with seeking freedom from monotony and restrictions. This should offer insight into why MGMT chose their name and what they seek to achieve in their music. The struggle between creativity and conformity is clearly the influential driving force behind the band’s unique sound experimentations … Okay, I’m just fucking with you. This is just 2 catchy singles surrounded by a dumpster fire of hipster bullshit. Crystal meth synth pop.
What did i just listen to? Honestly, what the hell was that?! I heard the songs they released as singles and those are fine, a bit longer than they need to be, but not bad. The rest of the songs, just no. Absolute nonsense.
Spending hours of my day in a car with my boss. I put this album on and he cranks up the volume because it's his wife's favourite. Management lovers love MGMT. 2.75
Not for me, but I can see the appeal
Loved this - not familiar with MGMT previously. Reminded me of Arcade Fire …
My streaming service crashed in the middle of "4th Dimensional Transition", which was coincidentally where the quality of song nosedived.
Mediocre
so good and another super nostalgic one. cant believe day 2 also happened to be an album that ive already heard but either way it was like chill. idk i was kinda distracted with work when i listened to it but like theres some bangers you really cant just ignore. also only 40 min long so went by super quick. the sound is just so fun idk and OK even thought its from like 2007 i think its brings me back to 2020 covid vibe bc thats when i listened to this a lot. also iconic album cover i love it
Good listen
Neunzehntes Album, das ich schon kannte. Um einiges besser, als ich es in Erinnerung hatte. Die drei Singles sind super. Der Rest auch ganz gut.
Pretty good sound
I keep forgetting about this album and then really loving it whenever I ReDiscover it.
I forgot how good this album was. Enjoyed the tracks, but forgot how different the lead vocalist’s voice was. Can be a bit distracting. Still a fun, very good album -especially the front half of the project
Blije elektronische indiemuziek, het hitje ken ik van de Top2000. Een vermakelijk geheel, het lijkt zichzelf niet al te serieus te nemen, helemaal prima.
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.
i said OO GIRL listen, rate, and then review baby girl turn it on, let vibes ensue
Awesome album. Creative, nostalgic and psychedelic
Not bad, I had no idea that I knew any of this band's music. Nice surprise.
Con solo escuchar las primeras notas de "Time to Pretend" se me erizan los pelos del brazo. Una vez mas, y ya voy perdiendo la cuenta, gana la nostalgia. Es la banda sonora de la juventud universitaria. Ma gad, its being a while
Great album with strong retro-vibe, but sounds so modern at the same time. Fav: Electric Feel
I listened to two 1 star albums today so I treated myself with this as a palate cleanser. This is a perfect album. We are lucky to live in a time in which we can listen to MGMT. I love you MGMT.
disappointed. i thought I'd like this but i just didn't at all. not for me
I was 16 when this album was released. No better age for a first listen, and it certainly gets those extra nostalgia bonus points from me, but I do honestly think this is an incredible record. It made me realise that indie electropop music can feel profound. A collection of different synth sounds can be organised in such a way as to invoke feelings previously unfelt. The first half of the album is solid hit after solid hit. Catchy. Sing a long. Beauty. Riffs. The joy and folly of youth. Then after Kids we transition to some more experimental stuff. These songs aren't just basic indie pop numbers. They are often elaborate, intricate, delicate, trippy, dreamy, whimsical, psychedelic. I love both halves equally for different reasons and as a whole this is an album i would recommend to anyone but especially to any 16 year olds reading. Favourite track - Of Moons, Birds and Monsters. 9/10
A defining album, absolute masterpiece
semplicemente gasa gran bell’album
Ho cummato
gli mgmt non hanno bisogno di presentazioni, quest'album contiene le loro tre tracce più famose, che sono anche le mie preferite. Non so a chi interessa ma electric feel è in 6/4.
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
I don't know if it's great but I love every song.
i love it, good memories and some bangers, genre : late summer nights with good breeze
This was alright as it happens.
o estilo electro pop me agradou muito, as primeiras faixas são incriveis e o album inteiro segue essa linha. dificil escolher uma favorita, todas me fizeram balançar levemente a cabeça no ritmo, fiquei feliz em conhecer esse álbum porque é um dos meus gêneros favoritos, e a mistura com o rock me agradou muito, salvei todas as músicas
Þetta er fín plata en ekkert brjálæðislega eftirminnileg. Nema Time to pretend og Kids, sem eru svo geggjuð lög að þau lyfta henni upp í fjarka. Segjum 3,6.
Highs are very high and a few of them. nostalgic feeling with these
It took me waaaay to long to get into MGMT. I liked a lot of their contemporaries at the time but something about them never clicked. (Of course perhaps their biggest hit, "Kids" was a song I never really liked). It was only a few years that I finally got these guys. So glad I did. 9/10
Mm, yeah, nice. Some definite hits here. I prefer the darker aura of Little Dark Age. I read somewhere once that all of MGMT's music sounds pretty much the same, but always with a step to the side that keeps it fresh. I would generally agree with that.
I didn't have the time to listen to everything, I liked "weekend wars". It's good but not my favorite. It was interesting but I don't think I was in the right mood for this album.
Other than the hits this sounds like some kind of weird Bowie ripoff. But boy, the hits are great!
This was full of songs I knew before. It was a really solid album. I didn't really dig the other songs tho, it was kinda hit or miss
Fun and inventive
Great album. From a time when I was a young lad in college got me through a lot.
Every song speaks, such an easy album to enjoy!
Joo okei pari megahittiä mut muuten erittäin meh poplevy. 2/5
Listened a lot
I've heard of them a lot, but never heard them at all. Let's see. Cut #1, TIME TO PRETEND - love the lyrics, but not crazy about the vocals or the music, so... WEEKEND WARS, same deal. I sense a pattern here. Gotta say, I'm pretty bored as cut #3 begins. Am tempted to zoom through this album. As Neil Young once said, "It's all the same song." This particular song doesn't do anything for me. It exists. ⭐⭐ ________________________________ 🎧 LPs reviewed: 83 🎧 LPs left to review: 918 🎧 LPs I found great/relevant enough to be mandatory listens (5): 18 🎧 LPs I *might* include in my own list (4): 20 🎧 LPs I will certainly *not* include in mine (1-2): 25
I didnt think much of them before, but the record surprised me. The two guys have some real talent.
Three absolutely generational songs (Kids, Electric Feel, and Time to Pretend) but the rest of the album is just average. 3.5 stars.
Mid album with some standout songs
An amazing opening 5 track run, I think weekend wars is my favourite off this album
Fun, biased cause of how much I loved it when I was younger. Still enjoyable to listen to
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
God, I love this album. Time to Pretend, Kids, and Electric Feel are some of my favourite songs in general so it was a treat getting this today. The endings a little on the solemn side but still fantastic. Little Dark Age should be on here one day. Fantastic.
Most pleasing. The three biggies are of course present and very correct, but the rest is a dashed good listen as well. I liked
OK I'm listening......4.5/5 Fantastic and fun to listen to!
Pretty good alt rock. Different voice that somehow straddles the line between interesting and annoying. The hits are good and the filler songs are alright.
this was a 2010s instant CLASSIC and for good reason. even the non-singles that i didn't know were pretty good. very specific time and place but top tier for its genre
Elektronischer Pop, eingängige Melodien. Die Singles "Time to pretend" und "Kids" sind mir noch im Ohr. Das Video zu Kids ist eher verstörend. Aber die Musik ist spannend. 4/5
Brings me back!
Great album with some classic hits
This might be a little nostalgia tinged, but I do remember the first time I heard this album I listened to it three times in a row because I loved it so much. Still holds up
Knew a few of the songs already. Nothing wrong with this, but not for me.
Fantastic, groundbreaking, innovative, nostalgic. My favorites: "Kids," of course, "Electric Feel," "The Youth," "Time to Pretend," "Weekend Wars," "Of Moons, Birds & Monsters," and "Future Reflections." The only reasons I didn't give this a 5 are because a handful of the tracks are less memorable, in my opinion, and this album feels a bit short - could have used a song more or two. However, it's a fantastic project and I love MGMT.
Fave Tunes = Time to Pretend & Electric Feel
MGMT might as well have provided some of the essential tracks of my childhood: Kids, Time to Pretend, and Electric Feel. Now that I am older, I can appreciate the sardonic humor laced with psychedelia reinvented for the 21st century. The other tracks are good but the trifecta of tracks above make everything else pale in comparison. Future Reflections, the closing track of the album, was a welcome surprise. Overall, there's a playful sense of mutiny present in this album, toying with musical conventions and tropes just for the sake of doing something new. This is a landmark in the indie music landscape, for good reason.
Sort of disposable bubble gum Pink Floyd or whatever. Not my bag.lacks any kind of appeal beyond a catchy Riff on the singles. Weedy. I recognised the single but the rest is disposable with fairly pointless sorry for poor us lyrics.
I guess i call this a classic now
Didn’t realize how much this was my personal soundtrack.
Just ok