User ratings in Music are temporarily disabled. More info

Little Dark Age
by
Little Dark Age Image
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 24 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 311 Ratings

  • Summary: The fourth full-length studio release for the indie rock duo of Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser was produced with Patrick Wimberly and Dave Fridmann.
Buy Now
Buy on

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 24
  3. Negative: 0 out of 24
  1. The Line of Best Fit
    Feb 14, 2018
    90
    There’s still something fun and interesting to be found in what the band do and Little Dark Age is proof that they’re nowhere near done with inter dimensional meddling.
  2. Sputnikmusic
    Feb 15, 2018
    82
    To put it mildly, Little Dark Age isn’t a success story, nor is it a comeback for anyone other than the most nerdish and devoted of us, and it doesn’t matter anyway. This isn’t the best this band has sounded in years, it’s the best they’ve ever sounded.
  3. Boston Globe
    Feb 8, 2018
    80
    MGMT spikes the formula with just enough outsider charm to milk an album’s worth of inspiration from the tired aesthetic. It’s not going to inspire legions of imitators à la “Oracular Spectacular,” but Little Dark Age should be both hooky and eccentric enough to please MGMT fans of all stripes.
  4. Clash Music
    Feb 20, 2018
    80
    With Little Dark Age, the group have perfected the balancing act between the two, and have delivered a project that should please fans on both sides.
  5. Chicago Tribune
    Feb 9, 2018
    75
    Little Dark Age does return to some of the “form” of “Oracular Spectacular” with its greater pop accessibility, but it also embraces a less obvious and more intriguing path on several songs.
  6. Rolling Stone
    Feb 9, 2018
    70
    MGMT are back to their roots on Little Dark Age, with concise tunes built from cushy keyboard beats and cute, kiting melodies.
  7. Consequence
    Feb 9, 2018
    50
    There are some sweet moments on Little Dark Age and some stale ones. More often than not, Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser lapse back into a sardonic mode that sounded a whole lot better in 2007 than it does in 2018.

See all 24 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 40 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 40
  3. Negative: 0 out of 40
  1. thelittlecoon
    Feb 9, 2018
    10
    Their best work yet. The high points on this album are orgasmic and it's blowing me away with every listen.
  2. GodfatherBraylo
    Feb 9, 2018
    10
    LDA is a defiant right step that MGMT are taking with this Album, in my opinion this is their best album to date.
  4. Deadshot159
    Dec 11, 2021
    10
    Amazing lyrics and outstanding. And oh boy, the chorus never gets old. Perfect song that you can vibe to.
  5. kicup
    Feb 11, 2018
    9
    It's experimental music with pop influences
    Songs like Little Dark Age, Me and Micheal, When You Die, She Works Out Too Much, and One Things    It's experimental music with pop influences
    Songs like Little Dark Age, Me and Micheal, When You Die, She Works Out Too Much, and One Things Left to Try are instantly song that I love. But songs like Days That Got Away, James, and When You're Small are songs that you need to listen with headphones in a dark room after a long day at work, and just vibe out to. TSLAMP and Hand it Over are lyrically superb. It has the perfect middle road of MGMT.
    It doesn't reach the same lyrical scene as Congratulations, it still it a pretty great album    … Expand
  6. RottenDaHam
    May 27, 2018
    9
    spooky-sounding, psychodelic, great synth-pop ongs, awesome vocal performance by andrew, better instrumental only bad song in my opinion isspooky-sounding, psychodelic, great synth-pop ongs, awesome vocal performance by andrew, better instrumental only bad song in my opinion is James, but still, the new MGMT's sound is great. looking forward to this band in the future.… Expand
  7. DavidWasHere
    Feb 9, 2018
    8
    While a part of me is kind of sad the band went back to the electropop and synthpop sound they broke out with on Oracular Spectacular and notWhile a part of me is kind of sad the band went back to the electropop and synthpop sound they broke out with on Oracular Spectacular and not continue on the neo-psychedelic rock style on their massive underappreciated Congratulations and their self-titled record (which was lackluster), the other part of me finds this album to be super infectious! Going for a darker synthpop style that recalls gothic new wave bands like Soft Cell and Depeche Mode during their creative peak, Little Dark Age brings back the hooks of Oracular while still being as adventurous and weird like Congratulations. With earworm melodies on songs like the title cut, Me and Michael, James, and One Thing Left to Try, the album oozes a distorted lost album from the 80s, with all the strength of great synthpop of the era while still being new in the hypnagogic psychedelic pop niche. Not to mention that the sense of dread adds a haunting euphoric element. Just look at the funky TSLAMP as a prime example. While a lot of the catchy pop hooks do land and are addictive, there are times where there are duds, like the instrumental loll of Days That Got Away, and the limp one-two punch of When You're Small and Hand It Over did close the album a bit anticlimactically, not really the comedown of the ecstasy they were intending, but it is far from ruining the album as the highs are SUPER high. Whether you were still on board for Congratulations and the self-titled record, Little Dark Age shows that the band has not run out of idea and that you shouldn't count them out yet!… Expand
  8. OrenBrown
    Feb 23, 2018
    7
    Overall a really enjoyable release from MGMT. The production is obviously very smooth and enjoyable throughout, and the quality of the songsOverall a really enjoyable release from MGMT. The production is obviously very smooth and enjoyable throughout, and the quality of the songs is a high point in their often inconsistent discography. There were a couple of songs that didn't do much for me, (i.e." James" & "Me and Michael",) but they didn't hinder the flow of the album and were cancelled out by excellent tunes such as "TSLAMP" & "Days That Got Away."… Expand

See all 40 User Reviews

Awards & Rankings

41
#41 Most Discussed Album of 2018
82
#82 Most Shared Album of 2018

Current Music Releases

Full List »
99 Band on the Run [50th Anniversary Edition] - Paul McCartney & Wings
95 If I don't make it, I love u - Still House Plants
95 The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow - Charles Lloyd
91 COWBOY CARTER - Beyoncé
91 The Carnegie Hall Concert - Alice Coltrane
91 Funeral for Justice - Mdou Moctar
91 Here in the Pitch - Jessica Pratt
90 Iechyd Da - Bill Ryder-Jones
90 This Could Be Texas - English Teacher
89 I Got Heaven - Mannequin Pussy
89 Tigers Blood - Waxahatchee
89 All Born Screaming - St. Vincent
88 What Now - Brittany Howard
88 Only God Was Above Us - Vampire Weekend
88 Orquídeas - Kali Uchis
88 The Past Is Still Alive - Hurray for the Riff Raff
87 Filthy Underneath - Nadine Shah
87 i/o - Peter Gabriel
87 Blue Lips - ScHoolboy Q
87 Hey Panda - The High Llamas
All Current Music »