PARTING SHOT
THERE ARE SEVERAL BEATS TO HIT WHEN TALKING ABOUT MGMT. Invariably, you must mention Wesleyan, the liberal arts college, where Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser formed their psych-pop duo 15 years ago. Then you mention how kaleidoscopic indie staples like “Kids” and “Electric Feel” soundtracked hipster parties during the final days of the George W. Bush administration. You might slyly allude to liberal hallucinogenic drug use. And you politely express bewilderment at the band’s increasingly proggy and experimental follow-up albums, 2010’s Congratulations and 2013’s MGMT. But the duo’s devilish new album, Little Dark Age, released February 9, is excellent in part because it eludes trite narratives. It’s the band’s poppiest album since their 2007 debut, Oracular Spectacular, without feeling like a retread. It’s also rooted in the sociopolitical dread of the past two years, yet not overtly political.
Newsweek spoke to VanWyngarden, who talked about Little Dark Age’s preoccupations, as well as the joy of “returning to the music that inspired us when we met at 18—Talking Heads, Depeche Mode, Madonna and big ’80s pop.”