MGMT’s fifth album sounds nothing like its predecessor Little Dark Age, and shows a previously unseen, more vulnerable side to the duo.
When MGMT released Little Dark Age six years ago, it was the duo’s best-received album since their 2007 debut Oracular Spectacular. It spawned a few synthpop hits, particularly its very 80s-inspired title track, “Little Dark Age,” and many fans (myself included) hailed it as a “return” or “comeback” for Andrew VanWyngarden and Benjamin Goldwasser.
The subtext of calling MGMT’s fourth album a “return” means that their psychedelic second album Congratulations and experimental self-titled third album were not at all what fans expected after the very accessible Oracular Spectacular.
With this knack for subversion established, it should therefore come as no surprise that their fifth album Loss of Life sounds nothing like Little Dark Age. There are no synthpop tracks that might become the band’s next big hit, and most of the album is acoustic guitar-based psychedelic rock. Compared to MGMT’s past catalog, it most closely resembles the lesser-known second half of Oracular Spectacular, parts of Congratulations, and the sprawling 14-minute non-album single “Metanoia.” That said, Loss of Life is also a new direction for MGMT, showing off a previously unseen, more vulnerable side to the band.
Like many pop acts, MGMT have always had a knack for hiding darker lyrics within sunnier melodies; for instance, their early hit “Time to Pretend” was an upbeat yet extremely cynical take on rock stardom. In contrast, Loss of Life is full of songs that sound sad but actually reveal resilience or optimism. “Nothing Changes” gloomily opens with the sentiment “And I feel strange, like I shouldn’t be here,” but the narrator eventually gains the courage to tell his “Sisyphean daily life” to “push the boulder off to the side.” The song “People in the Streets” has the despondent lines “and just as the sun comes out again, something is blocking the light” followed by a reassuring “but it’s alright.” Towards the album’s end, the mellow “Phradie’s Song” almost sounds mournful at first, but then you realize it’s meant to be tender, as VanWyngarden is essentially singing a lullaby for his daughter.
More than previous MGMT albums, Loss of Life wears its influences on its sleeve. There’s a very strong Britpop sound running throughout the album, which you’ll pick up right away with second track “Mother Nature.” It immediately made me think of Oasis when the electric guitars kick in with anthemic riffs halfway through, along with the very Gallagher-esque way VanWyngarden sings “but I understand your hesitation.” The band even confirmed “one part sounds like Oasis” when they released the song, so it’s not just me. Similarly, there’s plenty of glam rock amidst the psychedelia, and the track “People in the Streets” has a Bowie-esque quality to its delivery. There are also some hints of the Flaming Lips’ oddball psych-rock on the album, especially on the freaky single “Bubblegum Dog.” This track’s folksy opening quickly gives way to synthesized harpsichord, something MGMT utilized quite a bit on Congratulations (see “It’s Working,” “Siberian Breaks,” and “Brian Eno”), and a killer guitar solo halfway through coupled with its downright weirdness makes it arguably the best track on Loss of Life.
Aside from this one track sticking out like a sore thumb, the other consequence of Loss of Life’s cohesion is that the album frankly starts to blend together a bit. A majority of the tracks start with acoustic strumming, and by the time “Nothing to Declare” rolls around, you’ll be wishing for a bit more variety. This is especially pointed on Loss of Life’s latter half, which is significantly more muted than the first, and the back-to-back of “Phradie’s Song” and “I Wish I Was Joking” marks the album’s mildest and dreariest point. Of this half, “Nothing Changes” manages to stand out the most. After convincing you it’s an acoustic guitar ballad for almost four minutes, a choir of horns join in to play a lounge interlude, all before rising to play the song off in a dramatic fanfare. Even within a single song, MGMT are nothing if not full of surprises.
More than anything else MGMT has done, Loss of Life takes time to get to know. Rather than providing immediate musical gratification, it relies on listeners connecting with its lyrical messages and overall themes. In practice, this means that fans who loved Oracular Spectacular and then reappeared for Little Dark Age are going to sit this album out, just as they did Congratulations and MGMT. I’ll even admit that when I first listened to Loss of Life, I was a little disappointed by how different it was from Little Dark Age, and how there was nothing comparable to that album’s title track or “Me and Michael.” In retrospect, I guess it’s my fault for forgetting the key rule with MGMT: expect the unexpected, because they’re going to go their own way.
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