New MGMT album details

As related in an article in Spin a week ago, MGMT's sophmore release, Congratulations, has been slated for an April 13 release. The record is going to feature 9 tracks including the title track about fame and the "worldwide economic crisis", a song inspired by Lady Gaga and a song called "Siberian Breaks", a 12 minute opus that's, in the words of bandmember Andrew Vanwyngarden, "like eight different songs strung together into one, and the general theme is about surfing in the Arctic Circle by Russia." The unifying influence of the record is surfing, which Vanwyngarden (awesome name by the way!) picked up while recording in Malibu.

There is a lot of hype surrounding this release after the wild success of their 2008 debut Oracular Spectacular, which was on almost everybody's best of 2008 lists. The first five tracks of that effort are so addictive and strung together so well, I still have it on regular rotation almost two years after it came out. If you don't know these guys, do yourself a favor and buy their first record - you will not be disappointed. As an introduction of sorts, below is the first track off their debut album, which also happens to be my favorite:

Time to Pretend