Congratulations (album)

Congratulations
Studio album by MGMT
Released	April 13, 2010 (2010-04-13)
Recorded	2009
Genre	Neo-psychedelia Psychedelic pop Progressive rock Indie pop Psychedelic rock
Length	43:53
Label	Columbia
Producer	Sonic Boom, MGMT
MGMT chronology
Oracular Spectacular (2007) Congratulations (2010) Qu'est-ce que c'est la vie, chaton? (2010)
Singles from Congratulations
"Flash Delirium" Released: March 23, 2010 "Siberian Breaks" Released: April 17, 2010 "It's Working" Released: June 26, 2010 "Congratulations" Released: November 26, 2010
Limited edition cover
A limited edition CD was issued with a scratch cover and a coin. When the picture on the front cover is scratched off it reveals a photo collage of the group (pictured above).

Congratulations is the second major label studio album by American psychedelic rock band MGMT,^[1] released on April 13, 2010.^[2] The album is a departure from the synthpop style that first brought the band acclaim on their major label debut, Oracular Spectacular, and features a more progressive, guitar-driven sound. There were 66,000 copies of the album sold in its first week of release, making it the best sales week ever for the group.^[3]. Unfortunately in the 18 months since, the album has only sold another 11,000 copies.^[4]

History

MGMT began writing the tracks that would ultimately appear on Congratulations in early 2009 in a "small cabin in the woods" in upstate New York. They eventually headed to a Malibu studio to work on the album with producer Pete Kember, ex-member of Spacemen 3, where vocal contributions from Royal Trux singer Jennifer Herrema were also recorded for the album.^[5] VanWyngarden has stated that the album is influenced by the band's massive rise in popularity since Oracular Spectacular's release. "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."^[5]

On January 12, 2010, Andrew Van Wyngarden declared the album finished in an interview on the Spin Magazine website, saying: "It's mixed and mastered, and now we're just working on presenting it to the world".^[6]

On January 18, MGMT stated that they would prefer not to release any singles from the album.^[7] In an interview with NME, they explained their reasoning behind it—that it's 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!" Goldwasser 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."^[7]

On February 5, 2010, a countdown clock appeared on the band's website alongside a short still of a beach. The clock would eventually count down to 12:00 AM (EST) the morning of April 13, 2010, hinting the new album would be released on that day.^[8]

On March 9, 2010, the band released the song "Flash Delirium" as a free download.^[9]

On March 20, 2010, the band made the album available for streaming on their official website. They also stated that they "wanted to offer it as a free download but that didn't make sense to anyone but [them]." ^[10]

The album went straight to number 4 in the UK charts, and straight to number 2 on the US Billboard 200.

The album was released onto iTunes with an additional track for those who pre-ordered the release digitally. The bonus track "Inbetween the Liners" consists of an instrumental outtake from the Congratulations sessions, with producer Peter Kember reading the album's liner notes out loud.

Andrew VanWyngarden has stated that "Siberian Breaks" is his favorite track of the album.^[11]

The cover art is done by Anthony Ausgang, known for his kitschy Lowbrow art style, his favorite song of the album being "Song for Dan Treacy".^[12]

On March 15, 2011 was released an EP of remixes of three songs from the album ("Congratulations", "Siberian Breaks" and "Brian Eno") entitled Congratulations Remixes.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[13]
BBC	(mixed)[14]
Chicago Tribune	[15]
Entertainment Weekly	(B)[16]
The Guardian	[17]
Mojo	[18]
Pitchfork Media	(6.8/10) [19]
Rolling Stone	[20]
Spin	[21]
The Tune	[22]

The album received mostly positive reviews upon its release,^[23] and a 72/100 metascore at Metacritic, based upon 39 reviews.^[24] Pitchfork Media deemed the album "audacious, ambitious, and a little fried."^[25] NME got a first listen of the album and described it as a mix of "frenetic, brief psych nuggets... echo-drenched mini epic tendencies" and some "classic MGMT". As previously indicated by its creators, the review went on to say the album contained nothing in the way of "Kids-esque pop singles," adding that "it instead delves deeper into the sprawling, psychedelic sounds that characterized the second half of Oracular Spectacular." The article mentioned that "Flash Delirium" was being considered as a taster for the album, which the band had stated would not have any singles released from it in order to solidify it existing as a single body of work. It should be noted here that over the course of 2010, the band did eventually release several singles and EPs with songs from the album. MGMT have described the album as "a collection of nine individual musical tours de force sequenced to flow with sonic and thematic coherence."^[26] Writer Shelby Powell noted the group's homage to British rock musicians Dan Treacy of Television Personalities and Brian Eno, complete with faux accents in MGMT's delivery on a few songs. Eno, who is the subject of one of the songs, described the work as "very flattering", and added: "I appreciate the way they managed to make the song both fond and tongue in cheek at the same time."^[27] Also apparent on the album was the group's discomfort with their newfound mass acceptance, citing "the cryptic lyrics bemoan the façade of the pair's new superspectacular poplife."^[28] What's more, The Boston Globe noted that "perhaps most telling is the title track, which closes the album on an introspective note. A relatively straightforward coda, the song ends with a gesture the album rightly deserves: the sound of applause." ^[29] Robert Christgau was unimpressed, calling the album "airy prog-psych self-indulgence," and remarking that "even as self-indulgent elaborations go, the follow-up's a doozy".^[30]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Andrew VanWyngarden, all music composed by Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser.

Congratulations [31]
No.	Title	Length
1.	"It's Working"	4:06
2.	"Song for Dan Treacy"	4:09
3.	"Someone's Missing"	2:29
4.	"Flash Delirium"	4:15
5.	"I Found a Whistle"	3:40
6.	"Siberian Breaks"	12:09
7.	"Brian Eno"	4:31
8.	"Lady Dada's Nightmare"	4:31
9.	"Congratulations"	3:55
Total length:		43:53

iTunes pre-order bonus track
No.	Title	Length
10.	"Inbetween the Liners[32][33]"	6:35

Japanese re-release[34][35]
No.	Title	Length
10.	"Flash Delirium" (BBC Radio 1 Session)	4:15
11.	"Brian Eno" (BBC Radio 1 Session)	4:27
12.	"It's Working" (BBC Radio 1 Session)	3:50
13.	"It's Working" (Air Remix)	4:31
14.	"Brian Eno" (Cornelius Remix)	4:18
15.	"Flash Delirium" (music video)	4:23
16.	"It's Working" (music video)	4:09

Chart performance

Charts (2010)	Peak Position
Australian Albums Chart	9
Canadian Albums Chart[36]	4
Danish Albums Chart[37]	19
French Albums Chart[38]	7
Irish Albums Chart[39]	5
UK Albums Chart	4
US Billboard 200[40]	2
Scottish Albums Chart[41]	6

Awards

Title	Award	Result
NME Awards 2011[42]	Best Album Artwork	Nominated

Personnel

Production

• MGMT – production
• Sonic Boom – production, harmonica and percussion treatments
• Billy Bennett – engineering
• Matt Boynton – additional engineering
• Daniel Johnson – assistant engineering
• Dave Fridmann – mixing, additional engineering
• Greg Calbi – mastering
• Erich Lenz – art direction, design, photography
• Anthony Ausgang – cover painting

Music

• Andrew VanWyngarden: vocals/ guitars/ drums 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9/ bass 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9/ synths 2, 3, 6, 8/ casio guitar 7/ piano 2/ fake flute 4/ harmonica 6/ electric sitar 3, 6/ percussion
• Ben Goldwasser: synths and samples 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9/ organ 3, 4, 5, 7, 8/ piano 4, 8/ omnichord 1, 2, 5/ numerology 6/ additional vocals 2, 4, 7/ percussion
• James Richardson: guitars 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8/ synths 2/ casio guitar 7/ synth drums 8/ glockenspiel 2/ saxophone 5/ pan pipes 6/ additional vocals 7/ percussion
• Matt Asti: guitars 1, 4, 6/ bass 4, 5, 6, 7/ piano 5/ additional vocals 7/ field recordings and treatments/ percussion
• Will Berman: drums 1, 2, 4/ guitars 4, 6/ bass 4/ additional vocals, percussion and synths
• Peter "Sonic Boom" Kember: master of ceremonies/ modular synth 2/ first documented use of the EMT 250 "glitch" 6/ gakken sx-150 7
• Britta Phillips: additional vocals 1
• Jennifer Herrema: additional vocals 2, 4
• Gillian Rivers: strings 1, 5, 6, 8, 9
• Dave Kadden: oboe and sundries 6

References

1. ^ "Congratulations coming from MGMT". Triple J music news. http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/musicnews/s2444086.htm. Retrieved 2008-12-11. 
2. ^ Goodman, William (8 February 2010). "EXCLUSIVE: MGMT Unveil New Album!". Spin.com. http://spin.com/articles/exclusive-mgmt-unveil-new-album. Retrieved 2010-02-16. 
3. ^ "Justin Bieber, MGMT lead U.S. album chart". Reuters. April 21, 2010. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63K5RE20100421. 
4. ^ Fitzpatrick, Rob (Thursday 27 October 2011). "When bands fall off cliffs" (in English). The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/oct/27/when-bands-fall-off-cliffs?fb_ref=U-tHNkAJfonA4_4Ns6Izp4dl-CFCONX02FLS-32qyeXXX&fb_source=email. Retrieved 29 October 2011. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "MGMT take up surfing while recording second album". NME. http://www.nme.com/news/mgmt/47888. Retrieved 2009-10-17. 
6. ^ Goodman, William (January 18, 2010). "Q&A: MGMT's Andrew Van Wyngarden". http://www.spin.com/articles/qa-mgmts-andrew-vanwyngarden. 
7. ^ ^{a b} "'We're not releasing any singles from our new album'". NME. http://www.nme.com/news/mgmt/49280. Retrieved January 25, 2010. 
8. ^ http://www.whoismgmt.com
9. ^ http://pitchfork.com/news/38138-wild-new-mgmt-song-flash-delirium/
10. ^ http://www.whoismgmt.com/
11. ^ http://www.artistdirect.com/entertainment-news/article/interview-mgmt-my-favorite-directors-are-werner-herzog-david-lynch-and-federico-fellini-all-of-them-do-more-far-out-ideas-in-their-movies/6796002
12. ^ http://www.ausgangart.com/mgmt_writing_about07.html
13. ^ "Allmusic review". http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1735943. 
14. ^ "BBC review". http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/fqcg. 
15. ^ "Chicago Tribune review". April 8, 2010. http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/turn_it_up/2010/04/album-review-mgmt-congratulations-.html. 
16. ^ "Entertainment Weekly review". http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20357981,00.html. 
17. ^ Simpson, Dave (April 8, 2010). "The Guardian review". London. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/apr/08/mgmt-congratulations-cd-review. 
18. ^ "Mojo review". http://www.anydecentmusic.com/review/1662/Congratulations.aspx. 
19. ^ "Pitchfork Media review". http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14122-congratulations/. 
20. ^ "Rolling Stone review". http://www.rollingstone.com/music/reviews/album/2746/20775. 
21. ^ "Spin review". http://www.spin.com/reviews/mgmt-congratulations-columbia. 
22. ^ The Tune Review
23. ^ "Congratulations Reviews at AnyDecentMusic?". http://www.anydecentmusic.com/review/1662/Congratulations.aspx. Retrieved August 8, 2010. 
24. ^ "“Congratulations” Reviews, Ratings, Credits and More at Metacritic". http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/mgmt/congratulations. Retrieved 29 October 2011. 
25. ^ http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14122-congratulations/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PitchforkAlbumReviews+%28Pitchfork%3A+Album+Reviews%29
26. ^ http://mgmt-congratulations.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/article.jpg
27. ^ Brian Eno, "The Best Thing I've Heard All Year: The stars pick their fave tracks of 2010", Mojo magazine, January 2011, p.64
28. ^ http://planetill.com/2010/04/album-review-mgmt-congratulations/
29. ^ "MGMT's reaction to fame is a trip". The Boston Globe. April 12, 2010. http://www.boston.com/ae/music/cd_reviews/articles/2010/04/12/on_congratulations_mgmts_reaction_to_fame_is_a_trip/. 
30. ^ http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=mgmt
31. ^ "Congratulations on Amazon". Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Congratulations/dp/B003E8AF5U/ref=mb_oe_o. Retrieved 2 April 2010. 
32. ^ http://itunes.apple.com/en/preorder/congratulations/id363479419
33. ^ http://www.sonymusic.be/download/en/94132571/file/pre-order.jpg^{[dead link]}
34. ^ http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=SICP-2721
35. ^ http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h176/seanjohn344/oracback3.jpg
36. ^ http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Charts/ALBUMS.html
37. ^ http://www.danishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=MGMT&titel=Congratulations&cat=a
38. ^ http://www.chartsinfrance.net/Les-Pretres/news-69900.html
39. ^ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/news/a214803/mumford--sons-album-tops-irish-chart.html
40. ^ http://www.billboard.com/album/mgmt/congratulations/1324311#/album/mgmt/congratulations/1324311
41. ^ http://www.theofficialcharts.com/scottish-albums-chart/
42. ^ http://www.nme.com/awardsvote/offset/20

External links

• Official website
• Congratulations Album Blog
• http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1631334/20100204/mgmt.jhtml
• MGMT, "Congratulations" by Billboard