MGMT's ORACULAR SPECTACULAR has been dubbed as "the most in-demand debut in the world" and there's no doubt that there is a very high level of anticipation around the album. MGMT is
Andrew Vanwyngarden and Ben Goldwasser who hail from Brooklyn, New York and their debut has been described as an "enigmatic and prophetic collection of hallucinatory sounds and hook-riddled pop tones for the new millennium". The description, culled from their official blog may sound overblown but it is as apt a description for the music created by MGMT as is possible. Sure pop is the basis of the music, and ORACULAR SPECTACULAR is filled with traditional rock instruments (electric guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, synthesizers all played live) but there is also a great sweep of electronic noises and sounds that ensure the album sounds like nothing else that has come before.
In fact the duo has such a devoted following that it was a group of NYU students who formed an indie label, Cantora Records, in order to issue the very first MGMT commercial release, TIME TO PRETEND, a six-song EP. Two of the songs from that EP - "Time To Pretend" (the MGMT 'mission statement') and "Kids" ('filled with all those college feelings: naivety, idealism, nostalgia, happiness, sadness') - have made in on to ORACULAR SPECTACULAR.
Following the release of the EP and a couple of one-month tours, MGMT took six months off. Following their hiatus from MGMT, Ben and Andrew reconnoitered in Brooklyn and began recording new songs for the sheer fun of it on an "Mboc computer set-up". Those humble home sessions lay the groundwork for what would become ORACULAR SPECTACULAR.