Brighton Pressure Point MGMT Reviewed By : Michael Simon

The MGMT sound is a delirious mash up of exuberant vocals, computer loops and shape shifting guitar sounds that is at one minute Bowie, one minute The Only Ones. There's a reason after all why the band were signed up for a four album deal, nearly two years ago. It's an unconventional sound that somehow sticks, defying the conventions of what pop should be. After all, MGMT songs aren't meant to be polished- they're a rolling mass of sound, snowballing into an explosive critical mass, not punk, not synth pop, but completely raw. There's nothing predictable about what these golden boys do and that flair is what they're all about.

The upstairs Brighton room of Pressure Point is decked out with flashing, inflatable stars and the crowd is packed in and expectant following a dreary support set. MGMT are a band that are much in demand and draw a rapturous response from the crowd.

Arriving on stage, front-man Andrew Vanwyngarden launches in with a portentously weighted piece of rhetoric; "Life, reality: will it take me under?" At which point the band bursts into the bleeding psychedelic pop wonderland that is Weekend Wars. Close on its heels follows the beautifully surreal Time to Pretend, a song about the stereotype of the rock star lifestyle, which was somehow inspired by the band's pet preying mantis. Or so they claim. From there the weirdness doesn't slow down for a moment, and the set sees the band pitched into into the glittering neon soundscape that is their music, with a floor that vibrates to the sound of the speakers.

MGMT's look is a blast from the past, that might have washed up on some Brighton beach in the seventies, with flowing blonde locks, head bands and nay I say but a shiny golden jacket. It's frankly a wonder that Vanwyngarden has the voice that he does considering his resemblance to one of the kids from Son of Rambo who somehow got lost and emerged from Jim Morrison's closet circa 1971.

This is a sound that you're going to be hearing a lot in the future- get used to it. 9/10