By Kate Tocke, Public Relations Director 

[Mom + Pop; 2024]

Rating : 6/10

Key Tracks: “Mother Nature”, “Nothing To Declare”, “Nothing Change” 

MGMT enters a wave of psych pop and delivers sweet messages with the release of their fifth studio album Loss Of Life. This is also the band’s label debut on Mom + Pop. Nostalgia rumbles as many fans had been awaiting this return since the iconic drop of Little Dark Age in 2018. The album has a track that features artist Christine and the Queens. It is a rather quick listen but packs quite the emotion. MGMT has made their mark with the use of synth since the beginning of their career in 2002, and do not worry, that is still prominent in this project.

If you are a returning fan, you will hear much of the signature psychedelic sound, but you will have to take your time with this one. It is much slower than their previous records, but it is worth the listen. The band has shocked us with different sounds in the past and they have done it once again.

Read more: EP Review: Little Simz – Drop 7

​The album starts off with a spoken track over some sci-fi feeling beats. This track has lyrics in that question many simple things in life, setting us up for the meaning of the album. It reeks of sadness and questions depression, which begins to make sense as you listen to the rest of the songs. It then transitions into one of the singles, “Mother Nature”, that came out last year in October. The other single the band released was “Bubblegum Dog” that delivers a similar psychedelic acoustic vibe. 

This is one of the quintessential listens on the album. It has a simple guitar riff with some upbeat drums. The sweet lyrics over the tune make it a song you find yourself often revisiting. This album finds itself to be one of their stronger lyrical albums and stands out from the others in that sense. 

The tracks that follow also deliver the same sad tone that the album opened with. In many of the songs, they create a beautiful mix of synth and acoustic guitar that adds a lot to the songs despite the simplicity. Although the instrumentation is not the album’s strongest suit, you will most likely swoon over the lyricism that visits a lot of topics and touches every imaginable emotion. This album stands out from other MGMT projects because of how much they thrive in that lyrical category, but that is truly the only thing Loss Of Life has going for it. You could easily become bored if you aren’t lyrically analyzing the songs. 

As a returning MGMT fan, my hopes were high going into this record, and although they left me underwhelmed, I still deem the album a worthy listen. The untouchable Little Dark Age is a hard act to follow, which is why many were left still not full after listening to this newest release. 

I would still recommend checking out this new project because it is still good and short enough that you won’t feel like you wasted much time when you are done listening. Also, we don’t know if MGMT will make us wait another six years for an album again. 

Listen here: https://open.spotify.com/album/4dJvBAUQOaaCpRqsECRooa?si=wSE9kSgxQZyFSnn7fQw31A