MGMT
by MGMT
  • Record Label: Columbia
  • Release Date: Sep 17, 2013
Metascore
62

Generally favorable reviews - based on 37 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 37
  2. Mixed: 20 out of 37
  3. Negative: 2 out of 37
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  1. Q Magazine
    Jan 27, 2014
    60
    These ever-changing moods don't make MGMT an easy listen. [Oct 2013, p.105]
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  2. Austin Chronicle
    Nov 7, 2013
    50
    MGMT's still reacting to the mainstream triumph of 2008's Oracular Spectacular, trying too hard to sound genuinely weird, as if determined to fail at any cost.
  3. 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.
  5. Under The Radar
    Sep 23, 2013
    55
    If the rest of the album were as strong as those three songs ["A Good Sadness," "Astro-Mancy," and "I Love You Too, Death], this would be a masterpiece and a powerful growth for the band. As it stands, they can at best serve as a taste of what's to come.
  6. Mojo
    Sep 19, 2013
    60
    Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser's third album again fails to provide a soft pop landing. [Oct 2013, p.96]
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  7. Fact Magazine (UK)
    Sep 19, 2013
    40
    MGMT is by some margin the New Yorker’s most intuitive, sincere and naturalistic record. The bad news is that it’s not at all musically interesting.
  8. The Quietus
    Sep 19, 2013
    60
    On its own merits, it's a decent enough record with some interesting tracks on it, even if they sometimes sound like nicely turned B-sides rather than top drawer material.
  9. 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]
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  10. Boston Globe
    Sep 17, 2013
    60
    Occasionally the band’s vision pays off here.
  11. Paste Magazine
    Sep 17, 2013
    40
    MGMT chokes on its own forced sense of whimsy.
  12. 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?
  13. Consequence
    Sep 16, 2013
    50
    Their reach is admirable, but their grasp is often too weak to truly pull off their ambitions.
  14. Pretty Much Amazing
    Sep 16, 2013
    50
    An impenetrable, overwrought, hit-and-miss product marred by ego.
  15. Slant Magazine
    Sep 16, 2013
    40
    The swampy, claustrophobic MGMT is never as interesting or smart as the crowd-pleasing sing-alongs on Oracular Spectacular.
  16. The Independent on Sunday (UK)
    Sep 16, 2013
    60
    It sometimes meanders like a wasted hipster at an Animal Collective after-show. Yet it preserves enough presence of mind to yield gems such as the sing-song "Alien Days" or the deliquescent "Mystery Disease."
  17. Tiny Mix Tapes
    Sep 16, 2013
    40
    None of the other songs are as instantly arresting, aside from “Plenty of Girls in the Sea,” which proves to be just as fruitless and repetitive as the aforementioned single.
  18. The Independent (UK)
    Sep 13, 2013
    40
    Another dilettante excursion with little to recommend it. [The Independent scored this a 2/5 in the actual printed edition not 5/5 as seen on its online edition]
  19. NOW Magazine
    Sep 12, 2013
    60
    Considering it’s only 44 minutes long, MGMT’s self-titled third album feels much lengthier. This is partly due to the dense layers and constantly shifting textures, but it’s also a result of the abrasive digital distortion shrouding the psych-pop jams, making it a tiring listen even at its most melodic.
  20. Spin
    Sep 10, 2013
    40
    A confused, confusing album, MGMT treats contemporaneity as if it were an insulin shot.
  21. The Line of Best Fit
    Sep 10, 2013
    50
    Dense, uneasy psychedelia dominates, and although this isn’t a product of wilfully inaccessible experimentation, neither does it contain much in the way of instant melodies and conventional song structures.

Awards & Rankings

35
#35 Most Discussed Album of 2013
31
#31 Most Shared Album of 2013

User Reviews

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User Score
6.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 119 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 69 out of 119
  2. Mixed: 31 out of 119
  3. Negative: 19 out of 119
  1. 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 albumI 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.    … Full Review »
  2. 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 isHere'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.… Full Review »
  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 toDespite 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    … Full Review »
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