MusicRadar

MGMT’s new album, Congratulations, is out on 12 April, and it’s a decidedly dramatic departure from the pop hooks and contemporary dance references that so characterised their last outing, Oracular Spectacular.

The world went collectively mad for Oracular Spectacular. Something about the stylish synthesizers, playful lyrics and ever-so-far-out delivery resonated with hipsters and the mainstream alike and rocketed MGMT to unexpected fame.

But maybe fame didn’t sit right with Ben Goldwasser and Andy VanWyngarden (AKA MGMT). This, their third album (if you include 2005's Climbing To New Lows), plays like a reaction to - or against - their dizzying ascent to stardom.

Congratulations is a psychedelic epic that wears its references on its sleeve - The Doors, Love, The Beach Boys and, bizarrely, cult '80s neo-psych outfit Television Personalities are all here. It's safe to say MGMT are not looking for a Justice remix this time around.

So, what gives? This sprawling chimera of an album is either MGMT putting a spanner in the spokes of their own success or - as is much more likely - actually being true to themselves…