Congratulations

Congratulations is the second full length studio album released by psychedelic rock band MGMT. The album, released through Columbia Records, is a departure from the synth-heavy sound on their first record Oracular Spectacular. The departure from their past sound alienated some fans, but Congratulations is a more experimental, ambitious, and psychedelic work, spanning across multiple genres. The album is heavily influenced by the massive success the band saw after their first record. In an interview with NME, lead singer Andrew VanWyngarden said Congratulations is

“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”.

The record was received to moderate critical acclaim and commercial success, peaking at number two on the Billboard 200 chart. “Flash Delirium”, “Siberian Breaks”, “It’s Working” and “Congratulations” were released as singles for the record, with only the former released before the album. In another interview with NME, MGMT member Ben Goldwasser explained why the band refrained from releasing singles to promote the album, saying

“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!”, and that ““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.”