Average User Rating: 80% (39 Reviews)
4 / 5	'we've got the vision, now let's have some fun' William Rycroft "justwilliamsluck.blogspot.com" (London, UK) - 12 March 2008 Along with Vampire Weekend MGMT have been garnering plenty of praise and column inches for their debut album Oracular Spectacular. The music press seems to have it all sewn up at the moment, we're told at the beginning of the year which bands are going to be big and we dutifully go out and buy the albums and hey presto they're big (until the second album comes along usually) so do MGMT measure up? Well the album gets off to a thumping start. Time to Pretend with its heavy synths and drums makes their intentions clear: to live fast and die young, 'Let's make some music/Make some money/Get some models for wives'. It's not just hedonistic excess though. The Youth is a call to arms filled with optimism about change which brings in strings to its arm waving chorus. As a Prince fan I was very pleased to hear his influence all over the funky Electric Feel. The rest of the album is soaked in 1970's influences like Bowie, The Rolling Stones, prog rock and lots of others that I'm far too young to name accurately so your enjoyment of this album may depend on how much you liked them the first time around. Produced by Mercury Rev's Dave Fridmann it has a wide soundscape filled with warmth and depth. But most importantly it is filled with invention, humour and the vigour of youth ( having seem them on telly the other day they look about 15 years old, god I'm getting old).... Read Full Review »
5 / 5	Five Star Quality! Machine Gun Mountain! William J. Walker "Billyjay" (England) - 10 April 2008 What is it with all these four star reviews? Shame on you. Unclog your ears and you'll see that if there is any justice at all these guys will be the Strokes/Franz Ferdinand of 2008 because they are better than either of them. Unlike many other 'hot new things' these guys more than justify any attendant hype. I saw them on 'Later' and ordered the album the next day. I hoped it would be good but didn't expect it to be this good. This is the first band in a while that truly manage to produce perfect pop and remain effortlessly cool. As other reviewers have stated, there are slew of discernible influences in their music, if you choose to go looking for them, but no particular artist or era stands out as a primary source. This is that rare thing an album of potent musical quality that provides instantly catchy but durable pop music(I loved this album from the start and it's still getting better with every play).If you like music you should own this already.... Read Full Review »
4 / 5	A vital new album for 2008 R. A. Langham "Rob Langham" (London, UK) - 28 December 2007 This is an important new record to kick off 2008 and the band and record company have wisely held it over until the new year. I believe that the CD has been available in the US for a couple of months now. Classifying it, however, is a real tough one. There are some real curveballs in there - notably, "Electric Feel" which sounds just like the Bee Gees. But don't be put off by that, this is no Scissors Sisters-style music for hen parties album. There are two tracks at least that look odds on to appear in some future, "Now That's What I call Indie" collection -"Time to Pretend" and "Kids" tick all the boxes that go to make up the "anthem" category. All in all, there are enough bubbles and bleeps and enough innovation to make this a fascinating listen. The mode is primarily electronic but guitars do get a look in. All in all, an impressive pop album.... Read Full Review »
5 / 5	Georgeski G. H. Walker - 8 January 2008 I have never been moved to comment on here before but this album is so good I thought I would. It is going to be the album of 2008. The band have clearly drawn influences from Bowie, Marc Bolan, Led Zeppelin, Goldfrapp and acid house. Need I say more, buy it!
5 / 5	Genuinely deserving of the hype sonic perspectives (UK) - 3 June 2008 Saw these guys on "Later" and was incredibly impressed. As I remember it was a particularly good episode that night; We Are Scientists were on the bill too. Bought the album the following day. I have to admit, it took a few listens to get used to the non-live sound I'd heard on 'Later' but I quickly became hooked. Have since seen them live, and prefer that particular brand of their sound - it's a bit more 'rock' inspired, a lot more raw and a bit more "we're here to just jam." Nonetheless, this is a remarkable achievement. In a year that I feel has so far been characterised by 'average' albums that have been hyped to death, this is one that genuinely lives up to its promise. ... Read Full Review »