Post subject: [2010-04-13] MGMT "Congratulations" with guest Jennifer Herrema of Royal Trux (Columbia)
Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 1:52 pm
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1 It's Working 2 Song For Dan Treacy 3 Someone's Missing 4 Flash Delirium 5 I Found A Whistle 6 Siberian Breaks 7 Brian Eno 8 Lady Dada's Nightmare 9 Congratulations
Andrew VanWyngarden has revealed he has taken up surfing in his spare time as the band record their new album 'Congratulations'.
The singer admitted that he's become so enamoured with the sport that he's now surfed some of the world's most notorious waves, including Waikiki in Hawaii and Australia's Maroubra Beach - as well as the band's current recording location of Malibu.
"I'm from New York, where you can go surfing but it's more of an excursion and you have to go all the way out to Rockaway or Jones Beach. But I finally did it, I'm happy I did, and Malibu's where I figured it all out," VanWyngarden told the San Francisco Examiner.
The star added that he initially wanted to start surfing around the time MGMT's 2008 album 'Oracular Spectacular' came out. The sleeve for the album's lead single, 'Time To Pretend', featured shots of the band messing around on surfboards and at beaches.
"I’d never surfed, but for that album, I was dreaming about surfing a lot," VanWyngarden said of the period.
MGMT are currently recording 'Congratulations', and VanWyngarden says the album has been influenced by the band's massive rise in popularity since 'Oracular Spectacular''s release.
He revealed: "It's us trying to deal with all the craziness that's been going on since our last album took off. Sometimes it just doesn't feel natural."
VanWyngarden added that the title track "is pretty dark", before adding that Royal Trux' singer Jennifer Herrema sings on the album.
Post subject: [2010-04-13] MGMT "Congratulations" with guest Jennifer Herrema of Royal Trux (Columbia)
Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2010 12:47 pm
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MGMT: 'We're not releasing any singles from our new album'
MGMT have said they don't want to release any singles from their forthcoming second album album, 'Congratulations'.
The duo told NME.COM that the album, which they hope to release this spring, is meant to be a complete body of songs rather than an album with standout singles.
"We'd rather people hear the whole album as an album and see what tracks jump out rather than the ones that get played on the radio – if anything gets played on the radio!" Ben Goldwasseer explained.
He added: "There definitely isn't a 'Time To Pretend' or a 'Kids' on the album. We've been talking about ways to make sure people hear the album as an album in order and not just figure out what are the best three tracks, download those and not listen to the rest of it."
The album is being recorded in New York with production help from Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev). Songs set for the tracklisting include 'It's Working', 'Brian Eno' and 'Song For Dan Treacy'.
Andrew VanWyngarden says the band's new album 'Congratulations' is partially influenced by Lady GaGa and Kanye West.
The album has been mixed and mastered and is set for release this spring. VanWyngarden said that some songs on it are about the duo's reaction to fame. He admitted that as the band found success they became "the people we were making fun of" on 2007 debut album 'Oracular Spectacular'.
"We were a group of guys in their mid-20s touring around the world and of course we are going to party. But after a while we all learned that you can't just keep doing that over and over, and the new record addresses those issues," VanWyngarden told Spin.com.
"On some of the new songs, I found myself thinking about Lady GaGa or Kanye West, and what their ultimate goal is," he added. "This sounds cheesy, but for us it's really just about the music and getting people to hear what we have to say. I'm sure it's about the music for those people, too… but fame… it's an interesting career."
VanWyngarden also spoke about his love of surfing, which he says is another central theme on 'Congratulations', particularly on the song 'Siberian Breaks'.
"I try to do it [surf] whenever I can. I'm going to Costa Rica to surf this Sunday. I love it and it's definitely a theme on 'Congratulations'. There's one song called 'Siberian Breaks', and it's about 12 minutes long. It's kind of like eight different songs strung together into one, and the general theme is about surfing in the Arctic Circle by Russia."
MGMT will release their new album 'Congratulations' this April, the duo have announced
MGMT have put a countdown timer on their official website, http://www.whoismgmt.com, which is due to end on April 13. The site also contains a webcam image of a beach.
The tracklisting of 'Congratulations' is:
'It's Working' 'Song for Dan Treacy' 'Someone's Missing' 'Flash Delirium' 'I Found a Whistle' 'Siberian Breaks' 'Brian Eno' 'Lady Dada's Nightmare' 'Congratulations'
Mark your calendars, Blackberries, iPhones, iPads, or just write it on your damn hand -- 'cause now it's officially official: MGMT's second album, Congratulations, will release in the U.S. on April 13.
MGMT's core duo of Andrew Vanwyngarden and Ben Goldwasser recorded the album at studios in Upstate, NY, Brooklyn, and Malibu, CA, with producer Peter Kember, a.k.a. Sonic Boom of shoegaze pioneers Spaceman 3, and their live band -- Matt Asti (bass), Will Berman (drums), and James Richardson (guitar). Royal Trux frontwoman Jennifer Herrema helped with vocals, while knob-twiddler extraordinaire Dave Fridmann (Mercury Rev, Flaming Lips) handled mixing duties.
The release is the group's first since their 2007 breakout debut, the catchy and psychedelic Oracular Spectacular -- which landed MGMT on the cover of SPIN.
"It's definitely going to shock people," Vanwyngarden recently told SPIN.com of the new album's sound. "We dropped any sort of irony that was on the first record, and Congratulations feels true to who we really are."
Congratulations' nine songs are "sequenced to flow with sonic and thematic coherence." And according to Vanwyngarden, the album moves from "Lady Dada's Nightmare," a "very nightmare-ish sounding" instrumental track inspired by the "Poker Face" pop star, to "Congratulations," a song written about fame and the "worldwide economic crisis." Through it all, he said, there's one unifying influence: surfing, a sport he picked up while recording in Malibu.
"There's a surfing thread throughout the record," he explained, citing another new song, called "It's Working." "When you're surfing, there's a specific break you're paddling to. And when the waves are really good you say, 'It's working.' The song kind of has a surf-y vibe. It's like surfing on ecstasy!"
The ocean's influence on Congratulations is also evident on MGMT's website, which features an image of a beach with crashing waves and, in the upper left corner, a timer counting down to the album's release date.
Another album track "Siberian Breaks" is a 12-minute-long tune that's "like eight different songs strung together into one, and the general theme is about surfing in the Arctic Circle by Russia," Vanwyngarden explained.
As previously reported, MGMT debuted a pair of songs during their late-night set at Bonnaroo last June -- an untitled piano-led track that recalled the bright psychedelia and flowing arrangements of the Zombies' Odessey and Oracle, and the album's title track, a more standard MGMT fare (catchy synths, sing-along vocals).
Currently, MGMT have only two live concerts scheduled: an April 17 appearance at Coachella and a May 2 gig at New Jersey's Bamboozle fest.
A full tour in support of Congratulations is expected to be announced soon.
MGMT have revealed the cover art for their forthcoming new album 'Congratulations' (pictured).
The Brooklyn duo have teamed up with cartoonist Anthony Ausgang for the surreal cover, which depicts a surfing cat set to be swallowed up by a giant cat-shaped wave.
The band joined forces with Ausgang after they met through experimental musician Pete 'Sonic Boom' Kember of Spacemen 3 and Spectrum, who helped produce 'Congratulations'.
Ausgang said to Boingboing.net: "MGMT were recording 'Congratulations' at a mansion in Malibu so I went there a couple of times to hang out and watch the process unfold.
"Not being a musician I was occasionally left to my own devices so I would sit around and draw on pieces of paper then leave them there when I went home. I got along well with the band and gave them copies of my book, 'Vacation From Reality'. Later, Josh Cheuse, the art director from Sony, contacted me once the recording was finished."
Ausgang also praised the pair for being direct about the cover art. "The most important thing was that MGMT wanted the 'look' of my style of painting and gave me only a few points that I had to hit," he said. "Naturally, the process took some time but they were always cool with the criticisms. A lot of people who commission a painting only know what they don't want; fortunately MGMT knew what they wanted and let me do it my way."
MGMT dedicated their gig at London's Heaven last night (March 18) to Alex Chilton, the Big Star legend who died of a suspected heart attack on Wednesday.
Towards the climax of the comeback show, which saw the band preview tracks from their second album 'Congratulations', singer Andrew VanWyngarden paid tribute to the songwriter and frontman.
"We'd like to dedicate this set to Alex Chilton," he said before launching into new song 'It's Working'.
MGMT showcased several more tracks from 'Congratulations' during their set, including the 12-minute long 'Siberian Breaks', which VanWyngarden described as "an epic folk song". As well as kicking off their performance with new track 'Brian Eno', they also played new material including 'Flash Delirium' and old favourites such as 'Pieces Of What' and 'Weekend Wars'.
The group also performed 'Congratulations' track 'Song For Dan Treacy', despite the Television Personalities singer failing to appear when his band were due to open the gig.
It was rumoured that the singer, who was replaced by two other vocalists, was stuck in traffic, although no official explanation was given for his absence.
MGMT still paid tribute to their hero, though, with VanWyngarden playfully declaring that 'Time To Pretend' was "for Dan Treacy", adding: "Hopefully he comes back".
Despite mixing songs from their new record with tracks from debut album 'Oracular Spectacular', the duo decided not to include former single 'Kids' in the set. This prompted the crowd to chant the song's name after the band left the stage, and some audience members booed when they did not return to play the hit.
MGMT played:
'Brian Eno' 'Pieces Of What' 'Flash Delirium' 'Electric Feel' 'Song For Dan Treacy' 'Weekend Wars' 'I Found A Whistle' 'Siberian Breaks' 'The Youth' 'It's Working' 'Time To Pretend' 'Congratulations'
MGMT have offered up their new album 'Congratulations' as a free stream after it leaked online.
The Brooklyn band said that they had wanted to give away the album, out officially on April 12, as a free download. Instead they have made the stream available at their official website, http://www.whoismgmt.com.
"Hey everybody, the album leaked, and we wanted you to be able to hear it from us," they wrote on the site. "We wanted to offer it as a free download but that didn't make sense to anyone but us."
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