MGMT Flash Back To The 60s With “Flash Delirium” And “Congratulations”

MGMT helped Kid Cudi achieve wacked-out goodness for his single “Purtsuit of Happiness,” but can they work the same trippy magic for their sophomore album? Today we get to find out—two tracks from the band’s upcoming LP surfaced, the title track “Congratulations” and the bizarre flower power opus “Flash Delirium.” You can download “Flash Delirium” for free on MGMT’s website, but why exert energy clicking away when you can just hop below and give it a listen?

[wpaudio url=”//idolator.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/MGMT-Flash-Delirium.mp3″ text=”MGMT – Flash Delirium”]

Instead of being a modern rock song inspired by 60s psychedelia, this trippy track sounds exactly like it was written and recorded in the late 60s, flute solo, hippie chants and all. Although it’s got its own unique charms, ultimately, the chilled out song is meandering and lacks much excitement (or focus).

The title track (listen to it over on YouTube) doesn’t fare too better, at least to our ears. It’s a straightforward, very mellow ditty—we’d almost call it a rock lullaby—but it’s missing the spark and whimsy that encapsulated so many of their previous hits, such as “Time to Pretend” and “Kids” (which both ranked at #11 and #46 respectively on Rolling Stone‘s 100 Best Songs of the Decade).

We almost can’t believe the same band was responsible for both those two smash singles and the above 60s throwbacks. (Then again, MGMT did first record both those songs back in 2005 for their Time to Pretend EP, so they’ve had more than enough time to evolve their sound.)

So far, between these songs and the peculiar cover art, we’re not too sure we’ll be congratulating the boys on their new album when it drops this April. We hope they prove us wrong!

[Via Stereogum]