MGMT - MGMT
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62

Generally favorable reviews - based on 34 Critics What's this?

User Score
6.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 57 Ratings

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  • Summary: The third full-length studio release for the psychedelic rock band was produced with Dave Fridmann

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 34
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 34
  3. Negative: 2 out of 34
  1. This Is Fake DIY
    Sep 18, 2013
    90
    MGMT haven't necessarily re-discovered their mojo, but re-imagined it, and in doing so, may well have given us one of the best albums of the year.
  2. New Musical Express (NME)
    Sep 16, 2013
    80
    MGMT might be an uncomfortable journey at times, but it’s also a transcendental one you’ve never been on before.
  3. Filter
    Sep 17, 2013
    74
    This is an album hard to grasp at first, let alone on second or third listens.
  4. PopMatters
    Sep 17, 2013
    60
    The tenacity of it all is admirable. But the result, a self-titled rebirth following a hiatus, is a bit of a mess. Still, it’s a thrillingly inventive and uncompromisingly colorful mess, and isn’t that the best kind of mess?
  5. No Ripcord
    Sep 23, 2013
    50
    It quickly veers into a curious stream of whim with their most alienating, and unfortunately, their most characterless yet--they deliver an onslaught of acrimonious synths in the post-apocalyptic, jazz-tinged Mystery Disease, while Cool Song No. 2 shamelessly takes a page out of the Can playbook with its grimy, overcompressed effects.
  6. Entertainment Weekly
    Sep 18, 2013
    42
    Their cavalcade of goopy dross and hippie-dippy navel-gazing takes a left at transcendence and eventually just lets this bloated trip sputter out altogether. [20/27 Sep 2013, p.152]
    All this publication's reviews
  7. The A.V. Club
    Sep 24, 2013
    25
    This is a bag of potato chips that’s 80 percent air, unconvincingly trying to pass itself off as a full meal.

See all 34 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 25
  3. Negative: 7 out of 25
  1. unknown2000
    Sep 17, 2013
    10
    It's an amazing work by MGMT... I wish i had something more to say!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!… Expand
  2. ainhoa
    Sep 20, 2013
    10
    MGMT’s self-titled third album delivers a brand-new sound that celebrates liberated consciousness as they ditch any remnants of stylistic pipigeon holes or creative boundaries. The music awakens feelings of uncertainty but also of determination that many of us are feeling these days in this world. I recently read that in their years at Wesleyan University, Ben Goldwasser and Andrew Van Wyngarden soon focused on experimental music. It was not something that just happened to them overnight, waking up one morning and deciding to do it. They even played a few experimental operas of Anthony Braxton. Experimental music has been an important influence for Ben Goldwasser and Andrew Van Wyngarden totally ignored by the press in the U.S.… Expand
  3. rvdawesome
    Sep 17, 2013
    9
    Despite the fact that, again, it sounds nothing like their last album, this album is pretty damn good. However, this album may not appeal to you on your first listen. It's a very dark and difficult album. It's also trippy as When you compare Congratulations (a masterpiece, if you haven't got over the fact that it doesn't have another "Time To Pretend" or "Kids" on it) to MGMT, it seems like a commercial sellout. If you give it a chance without expecting it to be a mindless pop album, you might see the album as the genius acid trip that it is.
    My Favorites Songs: Alien Days, Cool Song No. 2, Introspection    … Expand
  4. kyle_aaronson
    Sep 26, 2013
    6
    It's pretty fun, but it's certainly the worst of their three albums. Oracular Spectacular was loaded with great, catchy singles, whereas Congratulations saw them venture into uncharted territory and explore what their true, wacky potential was. This just feels a little bit too safe. It's worth the listen, especially if you're an MGMT fan, and ESPECIALLY if you're an MGMT fan that liked Congratulations more than Oracular Spectacular, but it will not return them to popularity amongst the public or indie spheres.… Expand
  5. WadeVS
    Sep 17, 2013
    5
    Here's the thing I think we are going to have to expect: MGMT will never sound like they did on their first album. Whilst this new record is not as much of an overworked, contrived mess as 'Congratulations', it really fails to stand out ahead of the popular neo-psyche movement that is happening all over the place now. There are a few catchy moments (who would have thought the two chord wonder "Your Life Is A Lie" would stand out as a catchy track. They make soundscapes indistinguishable from Of Montreal. But still light years better than what Daft Punk attempted on RAM. Not awful. Not exceptional. It may be one of those albums that grows on you. It may just grow incredibly slowly.… Expand
  6. jmarkfin
    Sep 18, 2013
    3
    I don't get it. I really don't. This is the most contrived yet self-indulgent record I've heard this year, both in the worst ways. The album has a few redeemable qualities in the form of a listenable song or two, but not much other than that. I didn't expect MGMT to sound the same as their previous two albums, but I expected better than this.

    I'm going to give it a bit more time and if I change my mind, I'll come back. But I don't expect that to happen.    … Expand
  7. El_Mastero
    Sep 26, 2013
    1
    To say that this album is the worst thing the band has ever done would be kind. It tries oh so desperately to pass itself off as something fresh, interesting, arty and unusual, but succeeds only in convincing us that the band have already peaked. Overrated nonsense.… Expand

See all 25 User Reviews

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