Let’s get one thing straight right off the bat: I was never one of the most ardent admirers of MGMT’s, nor was this reviewer the most uncritical of their brand of synth-heavy psychedelia. On the other hand, even I was hooked by the tracks Electric Feel, Kids and, in particular, Time to Pretend – they joyfully stood out amidst what was an otherwise underwhelming album of generally uninspired songs. However, given that it was the duo’s debut, it was fairly reasonable to expect that they would learn from the experience, draw from those undeniably catchy singles and create a sophomore effort where such songs were the rule rather than the exception.

The warning signs were there when Ben Goldwasser said unapologetically that, “there definitely isn’t a Kids or Time to Pretend on the album.” Uh oh. Methinks you’ve kinda overlooked what made the first record sell so well mate. Granted, Ben and his cohort, Andrew Van Wyngarden had an artistically justifiable reason for such statements; in consciously striving to avoid overtly radio-friendly songs, they hoped to create an album that would be a more cohesive, impressive whole. Laudable sentiments, right?
 

What a pity it doesn’t quite work out that way. Oh, there is a more level standard of quality on this album than on Oracular Spectacular – it’s just that the standard itself is mediocre. This was always the inherent danger in eschewing stand-out tracks while putting together Congratulations; it just results in an inescapable impression of blandness. MGMT deserve some sort of minor kudos for taking the risk of intentionally avoiding penning any ‘hits’ to put on the album, it’s just that it’s a risk that has failed.

It’s not all bad. In fact, none of it can really be described in searingly negative terms – it’s just that there’s nothing that grabs you here, no awesome indie anthems, no addictive melodies, no endearing sing-a-long choruses... no balls, quite frankly. Still, it’s inoffensive enough. Marvellous, perhaps, to stick on in the summer and while away the long hours without really listening to anything of any consequence. Congratulations makes ‘anodyne’ an art form all its own.

Harsh? Probably. Nonetheless, it is truly irritating to listen to an album multiple times and find that not one of the songs has made any sort of impact on you – still more irritating when you know you have to write an appraisal of the record and you look down at your notepad after forty minutes of listening to find all that is written are the words, “s’alright I spose [sic]”. Insufferably dull.

Look, it’s harmless enough. There’s a lot more rubbish stuff in the charts than this (damn you Bublé) and most of the ire contained here is purely to do with the fact that there is literally nothing on the album that is of the calibre of Kids, Time to Pretend or Electric Feel. However, if you unreservedly loved the rest of the fare on Oracular Spectacular, than you might be a tad more susceptible to the charms of Congratulations.

- Sebastian Clare