CD - Oracular Spectacular - MGMT

10:58am Thursday 20th March 2008

FROM the cover, you would be forgiven for thinking Oracular Spectacular is going to be full of the kind of trance music played on beaches at Thai full moon parties.

Luckily for those of us who would rather avoid that delight, it's a far more interesting feast.

An odd and eclectic soundscape that constantly feels experimental, while at the same time being achingly familiar, MGMT seem influenced by everyone from David Bowie and Marc Bolan to the Beach Boys, giving them warmth and depth as well as an obvious sense of humour.

The album sometimes veers towards the ridiculous, but in the same way Mika's Grace Kelly took a leap of faith and made it work, these boys handle their strange tastes expertly and the result is an inventive blend of indie, pop and psychedelia that will play well on the radio and still stretch its listeners toward something new.

AT

EDITOR'S CHOICE