The new highly anticipated MGMT album “Congratulations” was leaked this weekend. This got me thinking. Is it even possible to release an album these days without it leaking weeks, if not months, before the release date? And sure, sometimes it’s done intentionally, but it’s just interesting that it always happens, and I wonder if records/labels think that this will be the one that doesn’t get out early, or if they just expect it now. In this case, MGMT addressed the leak and quickly posted a free stream of the album on their website, stating that they wanted to offer it as a free download but that they are “the only ones who thought it was a good idea.” So what are my thoughts on the album?

Well, to be perfectly fair, I must state that I’ve only given it one good listen. And I definitely did not have that feeling of “I must listen to this album immediately and frequently” like I did after the first time I listed to “Oracular Spectacular”. But I’m still going to give it it’s fair chance, as I do with all albums, because so many albums I didn’t think I liked snuck up on me after repeated listens. There was, however, only one song that sort of jumped out at me and was clearly different than the rest. It’s the third track, “Someone’s Missing”. While the song only clocks in at 2:30, there’s still plenty of time for it to start out slowly and quietly and gradually build up. At about the 1:45 mark, we hit the peak, and suddenly find ourselves in the middle of what sounds like a straight up motown song (well, aside from the heavy vocal reverb). I only with that this one carried on a little longer. So my early favorite has been established, but I’ve got a lot more listening to do before forming any formal opinions.

MGMT – Someone’s Missing

UPDATE: Track has been removed at the request of the label, but you can still stream the song (and the whole album) at the official MGMT website