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Comes on Opaque Pink vinyl LP.
Loss of Life is the fifth studio album by the American rock band MGMT. It was released on February, 2024
Singles such as โMother Natureโ, โBubblegum Dogโ, and โNothing to Declareโ revealed that MGMT were free of the neuroses that were more apparent in their previous albums, particularly Little Dark Age. Donโt get me wrong, the bandโs music has always had neurotic moments: my favourite album of theirs Congratulations, has plenty of them (songs such as โA Song for Dan Treacyโ and the aforementioned โFlash Deliriumโ). But Little Dark Ageโs neuroses came from a place of frustration: VanWyngarden and Goldwasser in an interview expressed how that LP was made partly as a reaction to Donald Trumpโs US presidential reign.
The singles from Loss of Life suggest the music has more of an accepting, innocent air to it โ an innocence thatโs comparable to their excellent debut Oracular Spectacular. In an ABC interview, the band members even said that they wanted listeners to โfeel comfortedโ with their latest release, and that the creative process was more akin to their process when producing their debut: just a couple of guys making music together with no pressure to produce a full-length project. Iโd say itโs as enjoyable as Oracular Spectacular too.
The album has a fluidity thatโs akin to albums such as Radioheadโs In Rainbows (an album that had the band take a similarly relaxed approach to producing the albumโs music). Thereโs no lag in the tracklist. I will say that the weakest songs are the first and last songs of the LP (ironically the titular songs for the album) and on any ordinary project that would be bad, very bad. But 1) the middle eight songs are consistently great, and 2) the bookended tracks donโt carry the intention to be earth-shattering: the opener is literally a middle Welsh poem, and the closer is a song that knows itโs landing the plane from the glorious flight of the previous eight tracks.
The music still carries shades of sixties psychedelia and pop that you come to expect from MGMT, but there is a nineties alt-rock edge to their sound now. โBubblegum Dogโ is the most obvious example: the singleโs video is literally littered with nineties alt-rock references that would make any nostalgic millennial or Gen Xer cream himself (I dare say the opening acoustic guitar riff reminds me
of Radioheadโs โJustโ). It has a real hypnotic melody that is wonderfully complemented by the razor-sharp guitar lines. โPeople in the Streetsโ is such an unadulterated rock song that it sounds like it was made during the late nineties: the intense drum fills by the end of the track are really satisfying.
Of course, there are songs that are sixties inspired which would please the hardcore fan of the band. โMother Natureโ radiates from the tracklist: its hooks carry so much colour akin to hooks and melodies that characterised sunshine pop acts such as The Association or Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. โPhradieโs Songโ is like MGMTโs โSunday Morningโ (by The Velvet Underground). VanWyngardenโs vocals suit this lullaby to the ground, it roots the track in its frosty sweetness that ironically will leave you feeling a little warmer inside. โI Wish I Was Jokingโ is very Beatles-esque, but late Beatles (circa White Album), the cooler version of the band. The effortlessly proficient melodicism over a song with such a simple sentiment reminds me of tracks such as โIโm So Tiredโ or โSexy Sadieโ.
There are great lines throughout the LP too. For instance, the line on โDancing In Babylonโ โMaybe I mistook pure distraction/ For a flash of loveโ is wonderfully honest. Iโve yet to come across such a succinct description of a loss of innocence in a pop song than in โPeople in the Streetsโ where VanWyngarden sings โLife keeps on going/ Showing you things that you canโt unseeโ. Overall, the album lyrically is more clear than in previous efforts, which makes its appeal more universal.
Loss of Life is a great LP from the stalwarts of neo-psychedelia. MGMT really produced a fine album, and I would probably put it as my second favourite of theirs behind Congratulations for now: I have a feeling as I mature, this LP can easily grab top spot. The band is real masters of pop rock at this point, and a Loss of Life just serves to confirm that fact (source is www.indiependent.co.uk)
Weight | 1 lbs |
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Dimensions | 14 × 14 × 1 in |
Condition | New |
Media | Vinyl |