With their new album Congratulations sitting in the No. 2 spot on the Billboard Top 200 chart, Brooklyn five-piece MGMT took to New York City’s Studio 8H this weekend to rock Saturday Night Live with a pair of brand new tracks — “Flash Delirium” and “Brian Eno.” Watch video below.
As the group’s first major TV performance in support of Congratulations, the SNL gig served as MGMT’s chance to show off their new psychedelic sound and image — long gone are the days of the multi-colored headbands and wayfarer sunglasses.
After an intro from guest host Gabourey Sidibe (from the movie Precious), singer/guitarist Andrew VanWyngarden — sporting a dandy suits with a bow-tie and disheveled hair — led the band through the multiple movements of “Flash Delirium” and bubblegum goth pop of “Brian Eno,” a nod to one of MGMT’s favorite producers. Like their Coachella set, the performance flaunted MGMT’s power and depth as a newfound five-piece band, fleshing out the core duo of VanWyngarden and keyboardist Ben Goldwasser.
In SPIN’s review of Congratulations, Music Editor Charles Aaron wrote that MGMT “may have concocted the most playfully artful bad-trip pop album since the Monkees’ 1968 soundtrack Head” and praised its “mischievous energy…. For a series of druggy Dada setpieces, it feels uncommonly, emotionally honest.”
Catch MGMT on tour this spring/summer, including a stop at Washington State’s Sasquatch Fest in May. See their full itinerary here.
WATCH: MGMT, “Flash Delirium”
MGMT, “Brian Eno”
