Loss Of Life
When MGMT emerged in 2007 with “Time to Pretend”—a euphoric shooting star of a song that soundtracked every house party and HBO show for the next several years—the synth-pop duo, just out of college, became rock stars overnight. They were big in every sense: a major-label deal, a tour with Radiohead, a reputation for rock shows that felt like raves. But Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser never seemed wholly comfortable with their popularity, and their subsequent albums were far more eccentric and experimental. Then, during the pandemic, the band found themselves back in the spotlight for a reason nobody saw coming: One of their tracks blew up on TikTok. The sudden, explosive virality of “Little Dark Age,” a foreboding, vaguely political track from their 2018 album of the same name, took both men, now in their forties, by total surprise. And yet, when they began writing their fifth album a few months later, they found themselves circling themes of reinvention and rebirth. *Loss of Life* is, despite its title, openhearted and hopeful, and sheds some of the fussy self-seriousness that weighed down their recent records. The arrangements are streamlined. The melodies can breathe. The hooks stick. It isn’t that the band has reverted back to its high-flying, imperious roots; these songs have an emotional sincerity that you just didn’t get on “Electric Feel.” Rather, it feels like a weight has been lifted. Certain moments, like the Christine and the Queens duet “Dancing in Babylon,” even sound like surrender. The album was co-produced by longtime collaborators Patrick Wimberly and Dave Fridmann with additional support from Oneohtrix Point Never. The latter is often cited as someone who takes a curatorial approach to production, and *Loss of Life* asks a lot of big questions about what, ultimately, makes art good. Does it need to be serious to be taken seriously? Is optimism allowed? Tender lullabies like “Phradie’s Song,” the Simon & Garfunkel-esque “Nothing to Declare,” and the twinkling title track—one of those sweeping, distorted psychedelic numbers that feels designed for exploring spiritual frontiers—suggest that MGMT’s answers have softened with age. “Who knows how the painting will look in the morning/When the day is born and life is ending?” VanWyngarden sings on “Loss of Life.” The subtext, if we may: Our time here is short. What matters is that you paint.
After a 2018 album hailed as a return to form, the duo shifts to slick, big-tent pop pastiche—Britpop, power ballads, ’80s excess—delivered with arched brows and palpable yearning.
After a 2018 album hailed as a return to form, the duo shifts to slick, big-tent pop pastiche—Britpop, power ballads, ’80s excess—delivered with arched brows and palpable yearning.
MGMT’s Loss Of Life occupies a similar (albeit far more refined) arena as all that came before. It’s accessible only at arm’s length, unearthing its bizarre mystery, warmth and sardonic sadness when you delve a little deeper.
Between streaming hits and a 'Saltburn' placement, MGMT remain remarkably present. Their latest is a '70s-inspired career highlight
MGMT’s Loss Of Life occupies a similar (albeit far more refined) arena as all that came before. It’s accessible only at arm’s length, unearthing its bizarre mystery, warmth and sardonic sadness when you delve a little deeper.
Between streaming hits and a 'Saltburn' placement, MGMT remain remarkably present. Their latest is a '70s-inspired career highlight
Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser’s fifth album is their most mature and reflective take on washed-out psych-rock yet—arriving easy, loose and immersive.
Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser’s fifth album is their most mature and reflective take on washed-out psych-rock yet—arriving easy, loose and immersive.
The Connecticut duo’s fifth release is a big, warm hug of a whimsical and wonderful return to form.
The Connecticut duo’s fifth release is a big, warm hug of a whimsical and wonderful return to form.
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Your daily dose of the best music, film and comedy news, reviews, streams, concert listings, interviews and other exclusives on Exclaim!
For a band who once confessed they were fated to pretend, MGMT sound pretty darn sincere on Loss of Life, their first album since 2018’s Little Dark Age.
For a band who once confessed they were fated to pretend, MGMT sound pretty darn sincere on Loss of Life, their first album since 2018’s Little Dark Age.
MGMT are a band who have spent the majority of their career hidden in their own shadow. The success of their vibrant 2007 debut ‘Oracular Spectacular’
MGMT are a band who have spent the majority of their career hidden in their own shadow. The success of their vibrant 2007 debut ‘Oracular Spectacular’
The band’s fifth album finds them veering towards exquisitely crafted, ornate pop without much in the way of winning hooks
The band’s fifth album finds them veering towards exquisitely crafted, ornate pop without much in the way of winning hooks
Like the great, good-humored psychedelic acts before them, MGMT mixes comedy with contemplation on ‘Loss of Life.’
Like the great, good-humored psychedelic acts before them, MGMT mixes comedy with contemplation on ‘Loss of Life.’
MGMT's 'Loss of Life' culminates with a run of songs about sleep, love, and death so deeply felt that it doesn't matter if they are still joking on some level.
MGMT's 'Loss of Life' culminates with a run of songs about sleep, love, and death so deeply felt that it doesn't matter if they are still joking on some level.
Loss Of Life by MGMT album review by David Saxum for Northern Transmissions. The duo's full-length drops on February 23rd via Mom+Pop
Loss Of Life by MGMT album review by David Saxum for Northern Transmissions. The duo's full-length drops on February 23rd via Mom+Pop
The newly viral US duo seem to take inspiration from Bowie, Simon and Garfunkel and the Gallagher brothers on an album of glossy, impressively melodic psychedelic pop
The newly viral US duo seem to take inspiration from Bowie, Simon and Garfunkel and the Gallagher brothers on an album of glossy, impressively melodic psychedelic pop
MGMT - Loss of Life review: We'll choke on our vomit and that will be the end
MGMT - Loss of Life review: We'll choke on our vomit and that will be the end