MGMT Discuss New Album

MGMT's Andrew VanWyngarden

Brooklyn duo MGMT continue to charm the pants off festival crowds this summer with their psychedelic dance tunes. But what's up with that new album, Congratulations? By the time it's expected out in 2010, nearly three years will have passed since their debut Oracular Spectacular. Backstage at England's V-Fest this past weekend, singer/guitarist Andrew VanWyngarden explained the delay to NME.

"We set up to do it really fast originally and then we realized that we don't really work fast," VanWyngarden said. "It takes awhile.... We have music for ten songs right now and four of them have vocals on them… the demos are definitely in a much better-sounding state than they were when we went up to [the studio] last time."

VanWyngarden added that several of the band's new tunes were generated on the road. "A couple of the songs were going through my head while we were touring, so they're kind of tour-inspired songs," he said. "Some of them are just Ben [Goldwasser] and I sitting down in a room and coming up with something. It feels really natural. We're actually in the mood now to write more."

MGMT debuted a pair of songs during their late-night set at Bonnaroo in June -- an untitled piano-led track that recalled the bright psychedelia and flowing arrangements of the Zombies' The Odyssey and the Oracle, and the album's title track "Congratulations," a more standard MGMT fare (catchy synths, sing-along vocals).

Peter Kember, a.ka. Sonic Boom, formerly of shoegaze pioneers Spaceman 3, is handling production duties on the new album, working with the duo at studios in Upstate, NY, and Malibu, CA. "[He's] made some of my favorite music," said VanWyngarden. "He meshes well with the group." Mercury Rev / Flaming Lips producer Dave Fridmann will mix the album, said VanWyngarden. Watch the video here.