MGMT and Hefner

Lately, I’ve been giving a lot of listens to the MGMT debut LP, Oracular Spectacular. I can’t remember where I first heard them, but I know this song hooked me instantly, partly because it didn’t sound like a dumb guitar band and partly because there are brilliant pop-hooks stuffed in every nook and cranny of its 4:21 running time.

When I read about them later I realized why I was so instantly taken with the sound. It’s because producer Dave Fridmann translated the duo’s synth-heavy, disco-baiting songwriting tendencies into a glam version of the Flaming Lips.

So I downloaded the record in March, but didn’t listen all that much. Then I started hearing their other singles on the radio and in bars, only I didn’t know it was them. I just knew their songs sounded smarter and more fun than what preceded and what came after. When I finally gave them my full attention, I realized their slim 10-song debut is chock full of hits.

For example, here’s a decent-quality video of “Weekend Wars” from their performance at Walter’s in Houston.

I’ve tried to pin down what I like about the band, and I think it’s the obvious Bowie-isms and the band’s willingness to put some thought and elbow-grease into their arrangements. So much of what passes for college rock these days is utterly lazy and bitterly formulaic, but these guys consistently write cool bridges and add sensible ornamentation to their formula. They’re working at writing pop songs and you can hear it paying off. Definitely one of my favorite records this year, along with Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago and Dodos’ Visitor.

Finally, I should say that if MGMT sound trendy and young and stupid to you, you are probably right to avoid their brand of fun. But if you dig this it all, I want to point you toward a criminally overlooked record from which MGMT seems to have cribbed quite a bit: Hefner’s Dead Media.

When I tally up my favorite records from this decade, this one will be pretty near the top of the list. It’s another of my “perfect records,” utterly free of filler and stacked with songs that deserved to be hits in a world with smarter radio and smarter listeners. And the kicker has got to be the memorable liner notes that detail the band’s all-analog gear fancy with Asperger’s-like detail.

If Hefner is remembered widely for anything, it will be for two things:

1. Their much-blogged hit “When the Angels Play Their Drum Machines” (mp3 from Dead Media)
2. The idiosyncratic and remarkably consistent branding on their and album and singles art.

I recommend their earlier, more strummy work as well. Get into it.