It seems to be happening more and more nowadays: albums get leaked online weeks before they’re slated for official release. It’s happened to some of the most anticipated albums of the past year: The Blueprint 3, Blakroc, Contra, Man on the Moon, the list goes on. MGMT’s latest album Congratulations is no exception; the followup to 2008’s smash hit Oracular Spectacular wasn’t supposed to be released until mid-April, yet copies of the album are floating around the web.
Instead of trying to fight the leak though, the guys have seemed to embrace it.
From their site:
Hey everybody, the album leaked, and we wanted you to be able to hear it from us. We wanted to offer it as a free download but that didn’t make sense to anyone but us
My take on the album? They definitely have a different sound. Whether that’s good or bad, I can’t say after only 2 listens through the album. I’m definitely noticing much more use of the guitar and less keyboard though. The songs seem rather slow and bland compared to such gems as “Time to Pretend,” “Electric Feel,” and “Kids.”