MGMT's Andrew Vanwyngarden and Ben Goldwasser did warn us before they released their second effort that there was not a single song on this album that was in the shape or form of 'Time To Pretend', 'Electric Feel' or 'Kids'. However, don't rule out the prospect that there's nothing catchy at all on this album (for those who only look for that) because there is couple of catchy songs on 'Congratulations'. The rest of the album opens up for a far more interesting combination of psychedelia and rock.
'It's Working' opens up MGMT's second effort and you can already tell the difference in their sound. The song is a slow starter, but builds up in pace as it goes on and acquires quite a catchy rhythm. Interestingly, MGMT picked up Sonic Boom formally off Spacemen 3 alongside themselves to produce 'Congratulations', he even plays on some of the songs on the album like 'Song For Dan Treacy', 'I Found A Whistle', 'Siberian Breaks' and 'Brian Eno'. Percussion roles of course like the synthesizer and harmonica. Further more, the main theme for the album, was what Vanwyngarden said some of the songs are about surfing and in the psychedelic killer 'Siberian Breaks' is about surfing in Antarctica. What's more than that, is that 'Siberian Breaks' is a mix up of four or five songs combined into a crazed frenzy of electronic fusion combined with a bit of rock n roll. The lyrics interestingly speak about 'chewing the fat' and 'being cynical'. What's more, if you think the song couldn't get any slower seven minutes into it, listeners will soon get a sudden kick waking them up as Vanwyngarden wails 'If you found a soul that you lost' before winding down into a rainstorm of synthesizers.
One of the main stand out tracks from the duo's second effort would be 'Flash Delirium' which uses a synth breakdown similar to the one used on 'Kids' but more so, the song progresses through a whirl of carnival madness before it enters that breakdown and then floats back into the carnival caper which closes the song with Vanwyngarden singing faster than you can keep up with. What's probably the most fascinating song on the album is 'Brian Eno' which the duo even sent a copy of the album personally too him and eagerly awaited his reply, unfortunately for them they didn't get one. Anyway, 'Brian Eno' probably one of the most accessible tracks of 'Congratulations' and possibly should have been released as a single, though it's basically an ode to one of their inspirations and shows their appreciation in a funny kind of way, just listen to the lyrics.
One of the most memorable songs off the album would have to be the self titled song 'Congratulations', it's a cheeky little song about city officials getting all their perks and people to run their lives for them. Aside from that, the song is perfect for a closer as it brings the album to a close with it's slow melody and quirky lyrics.
In no way, did MGMT attempt to follow up 'Oracular Spectacular' with smash hits like 'Kids' and so forth. What they did was make an album that was comfortable for them and they executed it well, by creating a mixture of psychedelia and elements of electronica and of course, a bit of rock n roll. Basically what 'Congratulations' achieved was an album that shows maturity, for an act that went through immense popularity and have the balls to produce an album that might possibly 'alienate' their audience shows courage and this is definitely a courageous album.
5/5
Linus Broadbent.
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