User Score
Universal acclaim- based on 266 Ratings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 247 out of 266
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Mixed: 15 out of 266
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Negative: 4 out of 266
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DolanM.Mar 3, 2008Re: Sharpa That's a stretch. The only similarities those songs show are the use of synth and the tone of voice, and if we're going to argue about tone of voice, then HSH stole it from Jason Lytle of Grandaddy, who got it from someone else, etc.
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DMcGintyFeb 25, 2008The first five songs are amazing, the rest has its moments. Not many bands can have songs titled "The Youth" and "Kids" two tracks apart without getting cocky.
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BilliW.Feb 1, 2008This is the Sargeant Pepper for the New Millennium. A work of youthful genius.
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ChristianP.Jan 31, 2008The first song is wonderful. The rest is forgettable.
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SimonY.Jan 8, 2009Honestly all front loaded. Two catchy tracks. Save yourself a tenner and download Electric feel and time to pretend off itunes.
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KyleJFeb 8, 2009I bought into the hype and purchased the entire album. I regret this. While "Time to Pretend", "Kids", and "Electric Feel" are all very good and show what potential MGMT have, the rest of the album is annoying and forgettable.
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SharpaJ.Feb 17, 2008In 2003, Her Space Holiday released an album called "Young Machines". In 2007/08 (retail), MGMT have received critical acclaim at the same time as completely ripping off HSH's 'Sleepy California' in the form of 'Time to Pretend'. Ridiculous, and pull your heads out of your asses!!!
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Dec 24, 2011Although not as technical as Congratulations, Oracular Spectacular serves as the bands more fun and easy-to-get-into LP. Other than the two famous electro-pop hits "kids" and "electric feel", the band creates a synthetic psychedelic sound which hasn't been heard since the 1960's. MGMT truly are the rockstars of this generation.
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MarkD.Apr 2, 2008Where the hell did these guys come from? Out of nowhere they produced easily one of my favorite albums of 2008. A strong effort start to finish.
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GuillaumePopFeb 2, 2008This is my 2008 debut album, amazing from the start to the end!
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WillOct 24, 2008The first half of the album is superb but in the second half only The Handshake stands out. They've got good potential though.
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[Anonymous]Mar 17, 2008Great album, and great live band. Sharpa, I'm sorry buddy but Sleepy California sounds nothing like Time to Pretend. Did you actually listen to the album?
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ErikB.Mar 20, 2008One of the best album's I've heard this year.
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AlexMar 29, 2008
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JustinK.Mar 30, 2008
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BrittanyApr 25, 2008i love this album my favorite of the year so far. weekend wars and the youth are great songs!
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AlZ.Apr 4, 2008More powerful than Destroyer. Tighter than the Flaming Lips. Less goofy than Junior Senior. Those comparisons are loose at best as this album brings a brand new sound.
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KyleA.Jul 17, 2008While at first this is album is hard to get into (past Time To Pretend) you discover the brilliance of their lyrics and the eloquence of their beats. Look out for "Kids" as the most addicting song.
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RobB.Jul 5, 2008Electric Feel, Kids, Weekend Wars & Time To Pretend are SO good that they score 9 on their own. The rest are less good and that's why its short of the perfect 10.
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CristobalG.Jul 5, 2008On a very first listen, the album may not sound as promising as you could think, but after the second listen and so on, it becomes an incredibly fresh, addictive, fun, clever, shiny and original album. It's like the perfect balance between Indie and Mainstream.
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BuckN.Jan 29, 2009This is one of the best albums i heard in in the past few years. It has good groves and amazing synth. IT has some off tracks but the music still is good.
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ClifCMar 14, 2009Every song is great or amazing or very good, etc. Buuut... listening to the whole album is a bit hard sometimes. That's why I can't give this album more than 8. Standout tracks: "Time to Pretend", "Weekend Wars", "Kids" and "The Handshake".
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IrinaPMar 2, 2009The album is amazing, but I must say that there is too much electric feel, that I actually do not like
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MichaelHAug 19, 2009Aside from Andrew VanWyngarden's beautiful and unique voice, the music of MGMT is unlike anything before it. So much melody and power pop sounds combined to make an amazing piece of art and music that is Oracular Spectacular. The album continues to thrive which each new song and there isn't one track that leaves you unsatisfied, a piece of music genius.
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JustinNJan 31, 2008The album is pretty freakin' good. I had a chance to hear MGMT live with Of Montreal in November as was surprised to hear an opening band almost surpass the main show.
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AlexR.Feb 21, 2008Aside from the obvious standouts on the record (Time to Pretend, Electric Feel, Kids), the album is very mediocre. The albums letdowns however feature a lot of potential for the group. A good effort, but a miss for the most part.
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MarkL.Mar 12, 2008It's a pretty good CD. With some upbeat songs as well as some mellow songs that still make you want to move.
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ChrisM.Mar 19, 2008Best pure pop album in a long long time. The difference between them and anyone they may sound like is that they have a lot more melody, raw talent, sly unsmug humor, all around smarts, and are just plain better.
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SteveMar 28, 2008Great. It is weird but in a good, different way. Best album I've bought in 2008.
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JamesS.Apr 11, 2008A cracking little album which really captures the zeitgeist...seems to be better with every listen!
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MGrizzleApr 10, 2008
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TomA.May 27, 2008A wonderfully uplifting and exciting debut from a band who seem to have appeared from nowhere on a glam-lined cloud. Although slighlty front loaded (enjoyed better on shuffle I would have to say), it is an amazing starting point, with only one or at a push two slow points. It will be very interesting to see where they go from here, and I cant wait to catch them live - what a show it must be!
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MycroftW.Jun 28, 2008Great singles, rushed album. Obvious example of a major label trying to churn out the next big thing.
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ZaneSFeb 19, 2009I love it! I'm not an indie fan, but I really did like this album. "Time To Pretend," "Electric Feel," "Kids" and "Pieces of What" are my favorites. "The Youth" is also good. It's hard to assign a single genre to the duo, but indie, rock and electric should sum it up nicely.
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jasonqApr 6, 2009best album ive heard in a while. although people may say its front-loaded, there are plenty of beautiful tracks if u just really listen to them all with an open mind.
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timMay 11, 2009Best cd of the year blend of all the great sounds of rock.
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VasileiosP.Oct 16, 2008Best pop of the year so far. Scissor Lips!
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OliverC.Jan 31, 2008This album is fantastic. Every song here is great. I don't know why the critics call it front-loaded, i think "4th Dimensional transition" is the best song on the album after Time to Pretend. It doesn't have any weak points in my opinion.
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StevenR.Jan 31, 2008For opener "Time to Pretend" alone, this album deserves high marks, but best is that MGMT refuses to be categorized. Building upon the mostly-electric sound of their previous EP, MGMT ends up a little more rock. Very few low points.
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PeterS.Mar 15, 2008Electric Feel is the best song Prince never wrote.
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KGFReezeMar 17, 2008Superb record from front to back. Prince and the Flaming Lips in a dirty drugged out orgy....obviously. Good stuff, can't go wrong with this one.
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GigiM.Apr 24, 2008This album keeps entertaining, wowing and surprising me. Unpredictable, odd, excellent. One of the year's best.
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KyleTJul 31, 2009i would give this a 10 but it doesn't have the videos in it. This band is so funky and visionary it is so funny. They make me laughwhile listening to the songs. KIDS Time to Pretend Electric Feel are great and so is everything else. Just watch the video for KIDs you will be mesmerized.
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JJV.Dec 13, 2008I really don't understand how anyone cannot see the brilliance. The progressions are simply brilliant and are in epic in a way only David Bowie has previously done. Best Band of 2008.
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Sep 23, 2010MGMT's perfectly-executed blend of indie and electronica hits soulful, inspiring, melancholy, and powerful notes from start to finish. One of the truly amazing albums of 2008.
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Nov 1, 2010MGMT is different. They make me think psychedelic rock, but they use synths to seal the deal. This is hip. This is in. It's memorable and has me on the edge of my seat. Can't wait.
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Dec 30, 2010A wonderful psychedelic debut album. Listening to this album is like an acid trip, and that's a great thing. Each song sounds like a single. Who doesn't love the song "Kids"? All In All, A great debut album. B+
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May 23, 2011One of the best albums of the decade. Its the lyrics. The catchiness. It is just more than an album filled with one dimensional singles. Even those singles have depth.
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Aug 15, 2011Great pop rock album. The opening track is a knock-out. "Time To Pretend" is dark, catchy, and just plain awesome. The rest of the album you're trying to figure out what just hit you.
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Jul 28, 2011Oracular Spectacular is a spectacular album. Sure, the first 5 songs may be hard to live up to, but if you listen to the last few tracks with an open mind and heart then you should see that they hold up well on their own. However if you are just looking for the best of MGMT then look no further than the first five songs.
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Aug 7, 2011
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Feb 24, 2012
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Mar 5, 2012An incredible psychedelic experience that will hopefully in future be seen as a classic , as it brought beauty to a dull market and has helped inspire many other artists.
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Jun 1, 2013This album is great. There are a lot of great songs on this album such as Of Moons, Birds and Monsters, The Youth, Weekend Wars and much more. I guess the only song I don't like on this album is Time to Pretend, but everything else is great.
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Feb 20, 2014
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Jul 22, 2014MGMT are great. Andrew and Benjamin are incredible and so genius. This album is revolutionary and perfect. Fantastic sounds convey in everybody deep and mystic emotions. MGMT one of the 100 best music artists of the last 50 years. Very very very good album!
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Feb 3, 2014MGMT makes a breathtaking alternating between psychedelic music from the 60's, rock from the 70's and contemporary electropop. At the beginning, "Time to pretend", prodigious single, sets the bar high; but "Week-end Wars", the second track, intrigues almost as much. And MGMT, over the tracks, surprises and amazes without ever losing us.
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Feb 26, 2014The explosion generated from this release seems to have always been there in the present day of indie synth-pop. But it seemingly changed the way people perceive compositions. Beyond the immaculate singles, The Youth and Pieces of What stand as grand gestures of - yes - original statements to the masses. It created a following of cosmic hedonists, even if that was never their intentions.
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Oct 13, 2014
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Mar 27, 2015Youthful, energetic, uplifting and vibrant. This album was a breath of fresh air, MGMT creating a distinct sound of their own and littered with a number of 'spaced-out' tracks. Listening gives one the feeling of buoyancy in a world full of stifling gravity. A positive celebration of music that many will attempt to copy.
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Jun 10, 2016There might be a slight sense of pretentiousness in MGMT's "Oracular Spectacular" but the creative synthesizer sound in songs like "Time to Pretend" and "Kids" and the unorthodox structural production draws your attention by constantly surprising you.
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Apr 3, 2018what keeps this album from getting a higher grade is the signing. on some tracks like of moon birds and monsters, it beautiful. but then songs like pieces of what, it's border line unlistenable.
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Sep 10, 2017All along the western front, people line up to receive this masterpiece of an album. The first 5 songs of the album in particular are phenomenal. Hands down one of the best albums released in 2008.
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Mar 16, 2019Favorites: Time to Pretend, Weekend Wars, The Youth, Electric Feel, Kids, 4th Dimensional Transition, Pieces of What, The Handshake
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Feb 1, 2020
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Feb 14, 2021This review contains spoilers, click expand to view.
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Mar 9, 2021MGMT captured pop rock in a way that shaped pop music forever. They dominated pop charts with an album that is mainly psychedelic and experimental. Apart from the massive singles that it spawned, the album includes softer and more symbolic songs like Weekend Wars and The Youth. Andrew van Wyngarden solidified himself as a singer-songwriter worth looking out for.
Awards & Rankings
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Alternative PressOracular may be a complex effort, but the verdict is simple--it's brilliant. [Feb 2008, p.115]
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Under The RadarThough the record is slightly front-loaded, there's nary a dud to be found here. [Winter 2008, p.86]
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While Oracular Spectacular has its sophomoric moments (you’d be wise to avoid the nasal whine of 'Weekend Wars'), a listen to 'Climbing To New Lows'--a catchy demo set from their undergrad days--will make anyone see what attracted the bigwigs at Columbia in the first place.