Album Review: MGMT Brings Light To Our “Little Dark Age”
“YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”, is what I said as I heard MGMT’s newest album, Little Dark Age. Like most “dark pop” rising from the ashes of a 2016 election that left America burning, MGMT’s fourth album veils serious fears beneath stylish pop. One again the electro duo show, you can dance through any emotional mess.
A good, dance-pop song is best enjoyed when you are trying to break free from a sentimental funk. Thus, we get dressed up, find our finest frenemies, and go to a club where we swear for a few hours we will be free of any issues. Maybe, that is why we don’t mind bartenders that ignore us, sticky floors, and long lines to the bathroom; we are trying to be free despite every reason to get negative. I am not say this to simply rant about nightlife, but build a vision that relates to MGMT’s Little Dark Age. In some ways, America is that club. We come here, swearing that life will be euphoric, and aim to deny anything that bursts that sense of false bliss. The 2016 election was an example of that, and MGMT’s lyrics go straight for that metaphor.
MGMT – Hand It Over (Lyric Video)
“When You’re Small”, “Hand It Over”, “She Works Out Too Much”, and “When You Die” are vibrant, even victorian in sounds, but shade to our much darker obsessions with “being happy”. Of course, joy is the goal of life, but MGMT show, clearly, we are not happy as a species, individuals, or a nation if we let bad things happen just to feel safe. Since when did those two things mix? It makes sense the experimental pair would go for such a vibe considering they create some of the splashiest, eccentric delights music has to offer. “Me And Michael” and “One Thing Left To Try” should permanently soundtrack every 80’s film on taking risks to feel alive/love.
MGMT – When You Die
“Days That Got Away”, “James”, and “TSLAMP” are perfect examples that this album is a moody dream that never stops feeling light even when it gets dark. Its sonic achievement exemplifies one I hope to personally achieve. As Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden go back and forth in psychedelic harmonies, and ranging their vocal tones from, achromatic to technicolor, the duo prove music can always sound good even when it challenges you to ask whether you feel it. For More Information On MGMT And To Buy Little Dark Age On February 9 Click Here.
MGMT – Little Dark Age
