Turns out the countdown on whoismgmt.com was counting down to the premiere of their music video of Flash Delrium. Quite the finish to this video. The eel being ripped out of Ben’s throat is truly symbolic of the transition between Oracular Spectacular and Congratulations
Tobacco Pat’s trilogy of EPs— The Plague, The War, The Destroyer— set up the stylistic transition of his long-awaited full-length. “Everything Will Be Oklahoma” opens up as crafty as ever. Tracks like Xmas Lights, NYC, and Don’t Die (In Blue Mountain) invite you to a place so pleasing, it’s almost familiar. Although, you never quite figure out the familiarity and so precede to accept that there is none. The album then sends chills down your spine with the vocals of my favorite track, Outside.
Outside is a breeze/it’s summer and the nights are warm/the whole world on it’s knees/trying to think of something to pray for.
This song sets a stirring mood that lasts throughout the entire album. The next track, When I Came Down, is easily just as brilliant, which seems to be about loneliness and longing for an understanding not as easy to obtain.
Don’t listen to the wisdom of a grandfather clock/he says “I’m no better than you/I just do the things I’m told to do.”
The next half of the album breaks into a deprecation of a man’s entangled love for which is all but lost. The man seems to be confused up until he beacons for a world “In Color.” This full-length then finishes with a subtle, lovely, what seems to be, third person view of that same man in Cookie Heart.
The simplistic overcast thinking that’s at the root of this album is the sort of thinking Logan Farmer (Tobacco Pat) escorts to his listeners, as if you’ve almost got no choice to but follow through on this album’s concept with an analogous liking, but with as little tension as possible— Never before have I listened to an album that connected the different settings of every song into one feeling— a dim, gradual undertaking that lingers within you long after you’ve finished listening to the full-length.
Tobacco Pat— “Outside”
After reading multiple interviews from the band about this album previous to its leak, it’s been made pretty clear that there was not going to be any stand out songs on this full-length. MGMT wanted to make an album where people listened to the entire album, not just three or four songs like many did on Oracular Spectacular. They also wanted to kind of shock people with this album, and after reading many comments about this album, it seems they have done just that. That being said I am not as disappointed anymore.
It takes time for this album to grow on you. I had to listen to it several times before I appreciated it. Song For Dan Treacy is a wonderful song that doesn’t capture you at first like their previous hits— Electric Feel and Kids. Their single, Flash Delirium, has the same effect. This single grew on me so quickly that it’s become one of my favorite MGMT songs. This single maybe be the best lyrical work of Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden. Lyrics like, “here’s a growing culture/ deep inside a corpse/ ages stuck together/ takin it to the source/ timeless desperation/ pictures on a screen scream/ hey people, what does it mean?,” really showcases a sense of musical maturity that might win a Grammy for them instead of only being nominated.
As I said before, this album is truly wonderful if you aren’t expecting Oracular Spectacular, Volume Two.
Sing — She & Him
Lauren Marie — Girls
If I was dramatic, I’d say this song was a chapter in my life. I’m so lame for even posting this.
The Dead Dog — Portugal. The Man
Great new album. Maybe I’ll get to see them at HoH
