Little Dark Age

by MGMT

Overview

After hitting it very big with their debut album and the song "Kids," MGMT dedicated themselves to making albums that would confuse and annoy people looking to hear more expansive, radio-friendly tunes like "Kids." Both 2010's Congratulations and 2013's self-titled record were informed by Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden's love of obscure psychedelia, oddball lyrics, and off-kilter strangeness. That they called in Sonic Boom to produce the former and Flaming Lips cohort Dave Fridmann to helm the latter says a lot about where the duo's minds resided. They weren't looking to top the charts, they wanted to do something weirder. By the time they started making their fourth album, the band had seen some changes and their record label was allegedly upset they couldn't write another "Kids." Whether it was the band's idea or the label's, Fridmann found himself teamed with a co-producer known for making radio friendly alt-pop, Chairlift's Patrick Wimberly. The result, 2018's Little Dark Age, sports a slicker sound that's easy to slot into a playlist, with restrained drums, glossy synths, and poppy melodies. This approach is offset by the band's still-present desire to be very weird, as shown by the goofy sound effects on "When You Die," the spoken word sections of "She Works Out Too Much," or the trippy vocals of "James." When they balance the two competing desires, the album comes into its own, like on "When You Die" -- which sounds like macabre and spooky indie pop lifted from Daniel Treacy's diary, then given a modern polish -- or on the huge "One Thing Left to Try," which booms like the best stadium new wave with its fat synths and an almost shouted vocal. ~ Tim Sendra

Product Details

Release Date:	02/09/2018
Label:	Columbia
UPC:	0889854760618
Rank:	4620

Tracks

Disc 1

1. She Works Out Too Much
2. Little Dark Age
3. When You Die
4. Me and Michael

Disc 2

5. TSLAMP
6. James
7. Days That Got Away
8. One Thing Left to Try
9. When You¿¿¿re Small
10. Hand It Over

Album Credits

Performance Credits

MGMT   Primary Artist
Sebastien Tellier   Vocals (Background)
Connan Mockasin   Guitar,Vocals (Background)
Josh Da Costa   Drums
Ariel Pink   Guitar,Vocals (Background)
Danny Meyer   Saxophone
Patrick Wimberly   Bass,Vocals,Percussion,Vibraphone
James Richardson   Bass,Guitar,Recorder,French Horn,Synthesizer
Cellars   Vocals

Technical Credits

Greg Calbi   Mastering
MGMT   Engineer,Producer
Dave Fridmann   Mixing,Engineer,Producer
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson   Engineer
Ben Goldwasser   Composer
Connan Mockasin   Composer
Andrew VanWyngarden   Composer
Celso Estrada   Assistant Engineer
Ariel Pink   Composer
Carson Donnelly   A&R
Patrick Wimberly   Composer,Engineer,Producer
James Richardson   Composer
Matt Estep   Mixing Assistant
Tyler Karmen   Assistant Engineer
Jimi Taber   Cover Art
Nathaniel Axel   Design,Art Direction