Oracular Spectacular

Skips and loops on every song. I guess I can't really expect much from a $12 vinyl but I thought it would at least be playable when I received it.Update: I received a replacement today. The process was quick and painless, I just dropped it off at a local location and the replacement was on my porch less than 24 hours later. Unfortunately the same skips/loops existed in the same spots - again on every single track. I cleaned the album - issue persists. I'm going to go ahead and say this is most likely a bad pressing from the factory. Just save your money and find another way to support these brilliant musicians without supporting these sub-par manufacturers.

My wife ordered this for me on father's day and I was stoked! This is a great album, BUT there were some skips and on of the songs it would loop. Okay...I'll just order another one. Had no problem there. Return was simple and had a new copy in 2 days. The same skips and same loop were on this vinyl also. Must be a bad print. Anyway, I'll have to do without this in my collection for now

12 dollars! Cmon you cannot beat that. Urban outfitters down the street from me sells this for 27 dollars. The most commercial of their library but beautiful album, one thing I love about MGMT is I love each song on their albums. That’s not something I often can say. Get it for your collection. Guests will always be down to listen.

Indie, pop, dance, electronic, psychedelic ... all are good adjectives to describe MGMT's Oracular Spectacular. Poetic and strange lyrics accompany great beats and strong synth sounds to make a truly unique album. Some songs are nostalgic sounding, like they miss a past or innocence, while many others evoke a hedonistic style (of music and life). These guys are definitely doing something new here, but they are obviously heavily influenced by the past. I thought the sound quality of the actual cd was great. Packaging was lame: I already ripped the cardboard case (I have seen thicker greeting cards), and there are some slight scratches from sliding the cd out.A great album for someone looking for something different: savage and artistic, without being cliché. This is something far more uptempo, nothing dark or depressing. Oracular Spectacular is an album that may not please everyone, but is still worth a listen. My personal favorites are 1-time to pretend (the beginning is reminiscent of Bela Lugosi's dead by Bauhaus, 4-electric feel (my favorite-some have described is as psychedelic disco, but I am not so sure about the "disco," I just have to move when I hear it), 5-kids (just a fun song, although the video is awful to watch--I do not like to watch kids being terrorized for no reason!), 6-4th dimensional transition (very classic rock influenced with a great drum, and 9-handshake (it has a rocking ending). 8-Of Moons, Birds & Monsters is a very pop song that has all the earmarks of being a 60s hit; something the Turtles or the Zombies would do.And just so you have a reference for my taste in music: I love Interpol:  Turn on the Bright Lights , Antics: The Special Edition , and  Our Love to Admire . And the strange sounds of this album sounded like what Daniel Johnston could have been, here's a sampling of his music  Welcome to My World .All in all, a great musical experience: highly recommend.

I absolutely love this album !Newly remastered, contains time to pretend, kids, and electric feel !A great addition to anyone’s collection !

Just want to reiterate what others have mentioned about the weirdness of the vinyl version of this album. While I haven't listened to digital versions (and therefore can't make a comparison) this really does not sound like a mix correctly balanced for the medium. Granted, the band apparently wanted the album to sound "gross", but I doubt they wanted it to sound *bad*. It's not just the "compressed" sound, which i think was intentional. It really does lack proper balance between highs and lows in a lot of places, and is overly distorted in spots that just don't seem to be fitting. That said, now that I'm used to it, I don't mind it so much. And the music is fun!

There isn't a single track I don't like. MGMT's sound is hard to describe, but it's roughly a mixture of psychedelic-pop, and prog-rock. There's probably some alternative/college/indie rock in there too. This band knows how to make soundscapes. Catchy soundscapes, at that.There are three songs on this album that are more pop/electronic oriented than the other songs, and it's to the band's credit that these songs are not any weaker than the more progressive songs on the album. Lyrically, the song "Time to Pretend" is fantastic: it starts off as a young person's fantasy of the idealized rockstar lifestyle and all its excesses, but as the song progresses, the person reflects on the childhood he would have to leave behind in order to pursue his dream. The innocence of childhood contrasts perfectly with the shameless hedonism of the rockstar life.As others have mentioned, the sound quality of Oracular Spectacular is pretty bad; there is over-compression galore. This was MGMT's intention, for better or for worse.

Everything has already been covered in other reviews here. This is a strong debut from this duo, and it's no surprise that they sound like The Flaming Lips since they used David Fridmann as their producer."Time To Pretend" expands upon the sample from Aphex Twin, to make a great song, one of the best on the cd. Elsewhere, "Weekend Wars", "The Youth", "The Handshake", "Future Reflections" remind me of something Donovan might have done in the 1960's. "Electric Feel" has a Prince vibe to it. "Pieces of What" is Pink Floyd-ish. "Kids" has a more electronic edge to it.Generally, this is a nice collection of songs that are diverse enough to hold your attention, and the lyrics are interesting enough to think about. It will be interesting to see what they do next.

MGMT were always a band I knew for one track and one track only - Kids. Having heard this in 2008 on Now 72, this track remained my only exposure to the band, until happening upon them after looking up Time To Pretend from hearing it in an episode of Skins. All I can say is - this album is great. Catchy tracks that combine late 70s/early 80s neo-psychedelic music with modern pop and dance tracks make for a consistent set of tracks, with great meaningful lyrics (something that seems to be lacking elsewhere in today's music), great instrument playing (with solos and extended instrumental sections reminiscent of early Pink Floyd - Of Moons, Birds and Monsters is a stand out track on this front) and a few popular tracks to make it still appeal to the masses. Definitely a stand out album of the 00s (and definitely a unique band) and should be up there with the likes of Green Day's American Idiot, The Killers' Hot Fuss and Radiohead's Kid A in the best alt rock albums of the decade. For those who are skeptical of diving into what some may consider as slightly 'strange' music, check out Time to Pretend, then buy the album. You wont regret it.

"Electric Feel" really blew me away when I heard it for the first time on the radio and I tried to guess who it was. I love the music and the falestto vocals just make it so hauntingly familiar and remenicent of the Stone's in the 70's on their albums Some Girls & Emotional Rescue. The feel of the track also made me think of the White Stripes... but on saying that I don't really want to compare the band to either of these bands because they are totally original when you listen more and play the album. MGMT will be a name I think everyone will be familiar with as this year goes on as once people hear them, they'll want to have their album, it did not disapoint when I heard it. Buy it and hear it for yourself.

top album would recomend to buy loved all the tracks top marks ten out of ten best album in years

Another pleasant musical surprise I found only recently. Catchy tunes that stick in your head for the rest of the day with especially Time To Pretend being a classic on this album. It never fails to inspire me; one of the best songs ever made as far as I am concerned.

This duo is wonderful, great sounds and beats. Thank you for the prompt delivery, it arrived earlier than expected!