MGMT has Kurt Cobain Syndrome. After Cobain’s band Nirvana exploded in popularity, their frustrated frontman wrote and recorded the abrasive In Utero in effort to regain underground credibility. On Congratulations, MGMT takes a similar stance—“Hey, we’re not sellouts!”—and a similar left-field turn towards their artsier and more abstract roots.

In the context of “Kids,” “Electric Feel” and “Time to Pretend” from debut Oracular Spectacular, Congratulations is on easily digestable melodies. But taken on its own terms, the album is an inoffensive run-through of prog and psych rock stereotypes. Given their electronic background, it’s a bold move from MGMT, although coming from a less
renowned band, it would sound hackneyed. Still, the duo does manage to write a few more advanced melodies that still remain enjoyable from a pop music perspective.

“It’s Working” kicks things off with a sweet/sour mix of propulsive drums and fey harpsichord, although the melody writing is surprisingly complex, though not especially memorable. The melody probably isn’t going to be soundtracking episodes of 90210 like “Kids” was, but it’s a passable stab at Beatles-and-Byrds-style pyschedelia. The surprising energy here, lacking from most of the album, makes it a strong opener.

Followup “Song for Dan Treacy” is an equally brisk pop that sounds like early REM plus some haunted-house organ. The tune itself is ace, winding and upbeat, but the song’s topic shows the difficulty in trying to straddle the art/pop line. To some listeners, the comparison with Treacy that they invite by singing about him will seem over-the-top. After all, much of MGMT’s new sound owes a debt to Treacy’s band, the Television Personalities, already. And of course, other listeners will just ask who the hell this Dan Treacy guy is. The move is either too cutesy or deliberately obscure, but either way, it’s annoying.

This brings up the larger problem with Congratulations – MGMT’s efforts at being arty yet melodic will too often satisfy neither camp. The band’s experimental forays don’t quite get revolutionary and they’re often pretty overdone. As an example, they use a harpsichord, fairly obsolete in modern music, on a number of songs. Though that move is intended to be innovative, it feels like a cheap gimmick. At the same time, the band lacks the melodic
kick to make up for a relatively old sound. The melodies’ complexity is interesting, but a whole album of “interesting” with no hooks is pretty lame.

Case in point, “Flash Delirium” sounds like a couple of freshmen who just purchased Rubber Soul and decided to jump on the bandwagon for this “far out music.” It’s not bad by any means, but it just sounds like a generic psychedelic band. Wearing your influences on your sleeve is okay if you make music that transcends those influences, but this is just vaguely pleasant and derivative.

While their talent is a little misguided, one can’t deny the band members’ clear musical skills. “Brian Eno,” another uptempo homage, is a patchwork of ideas threaded together with tempo shifts, dynamic drumming and a sloppily enjoyable guitar and organ riffs. This is where MGMT succeeds—writing inventive songs that don’t sacrifice listenability.

On the title track, too, the band finds a stronger sense of focus, evoking the Flaming Lips’ better ballads. The band forgoes experimentalism entirely, ditches that stupid harpsichord and simply writes a pretty song. It feels blissed out in a way that’s soothing rather than boring.

Ultimately, though, too many songs end up like “I Found a Whistle,” a wistful, breezy ballad reliant on acoustic guitar and clandestine synthesizer. It makes for pleasant background music—in fact, the song has a lyric that goes “I’ll ignore real emotions, such a drag”—but ambient noise isn’t the same thing as groundbreaking art or classic pop music.

The album as a whole just feels disappointing. MGMT clearly has quite a bit of talent, whether at crafting stuck-in-your-head melodies or pushing boundaries. But they just can’t seem to find a good balance, and they eventually write too many weak songs. Of course, the album’s fate isn’t sealed:  as In Utero’s 15th anniversary rolled by, critics suddenly saw a method to the madness and heaped accolades on the album. For all we know, Congratulations might sound like aural brilliance in a few years. For now though, it’s a disappointing followup on a lot of potential.

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