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Loss of Life

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Not to be confused with Death or Murder.

Loss of Life
Studio album by
MGMT
ReleasedFebruary 23, 2024 (2024-02-23)
Genre
Length45:09
Label
Producer
MGMT chronology
11•11•11
(2022) 		Loss of Life
(2024)
Singles from Loss of Life
  1. "Mother Nature"
    Released: October 31, 2023
  2. "Bubblegum Dog"
    Released: November 29, 2023
  3. "Nothing to Declare"
    Released: January 10, 2024
  4. "Dancing in Babylon"
    Released: February 20, 2024

Loss of Life is the fifth[2] studio album by the American rock band MGMT. It was released on February 23, 2024, making it their label debut on Mom + Pop in the United States and internationally on BMG Rights Management, and their first studio album in six years since 2018's Little Dark Age. It features a guest appearance by French singer Christine and the Queens, making it the first feature on an MGMT album.

Background

[edit]

On September 21, 2023, Andrew VanWyngarden posted a picture of a vinyl "test pressing" with a banana on top on Reddit, accompanied by the caption "elf of soils". The latter was reported to be an anagram of what would be the album title.[3] The title was first hinted at on April 5 through a photo captioned "Just got done cooking L.O.L." by VanWyngarden.[4]

Loss of Life is the long-awaited follow-up to 2018's Little Dark Age. The album was produced by MGMT (Andrew VanWyngarden, Ben Goldwasser) along with Patrick Wimberly. Longtime collaborator Dave Fridmann[5] mixed the album as he has done on the group's past four full lengths. On Loss of Life, additional production was supplied by Daniel Lopatin and James Richardson. Brian Burton provides additional production on "Mother Nature" and Miles A. Robinson served as associate producer and engineer across the album.

In a statement, the duo revealed that they were "very proud" of the album and described it as a "relatively painless birth after a lengthy gestation period". Musically speaking, they explained to have run at around "20% adult contemporary" but "no more than this".[6] Announced on October 31, Loss of Life was their first studio offering in six years and their first since leaving Columbia Records.[7] The lead single "Mother Nature" was released the same day and tells the story of "one hero attempting to get the other hero to come on the journey" that they have to carry on.[8]

MGMT has previously released videos for album tracks "Mother Nature", "Bubblegum Dog", "Nothing to Declare", "Dancing in Babylon" and "People in the Streets".

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic80/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
Clash7/10[11]
Exclaim!7/10[12]
The Guardian[13]
NME[14]
Paste7.9/10[15]
Pitchfork6.9/10[16]
PopMatters7/10[17]

Loss of Life received positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 80 based on 19 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[9]

Fred Thomas from AllMusic stated, "Loss of Life is restrained for MGMT's track record, still managing to express personality and abstract thinking (musical and lyrical) while keeping huge melodies in the forefront. It's not a return to form, a return to pop, or really a return of any kind, just a continuation of the band's blissfully weird frames of mind and a record that includes some of their strongest songs in years.[18]

In a 6.9/10 review for Pitchfork, Andy Cush wrote, "Resurrecting old schlock in queasy new definition is not a novel pursuit in 2024. Loss of Life distinguishes itself through its use of this soft-rock accelerationist aesthetic to bolster the thematic punch of Goldwasser and VanWyngarden's songs, which come across as equally awed and aghast at our era's technological splendor and the crushing dehumanization it inflicts upon all but the most fortunate. Their palette of references serves a dual function: The arrangements' gaudy spectacle reflects the feeling of life in a wonderland of convenience, entertainment, and alienation, even as their palpable sense of yearning earnestly suggests the possibility that love could help us to transcend this well-appointed hell we've made. At its best, this unification of sounds and ideas also serves to heighten the experience of these songs as songs, not only on the intellectual plane, but also in that more mysterious place, closer to our hearts, where we take stock of pop music's innumerable variables, then subject their product, through a chain of involuntary and intuitive reactions, to one more-or-less binary judgment: Is it hitting or not?"[19]

In his "10 best albums of 2024," Russell Falcon for KTLA News in Los Angeles ranked "Loss of Life" at no. 9, writing that though the album is a "grower," it's "more complex instrumentally than its predecessor, bigger in scope and a more interesting project, especially in the full context of the band’s career."[20]

Track listing

[edit]

All lyrics are written by Andrew VanWyngarden; all music is composed by VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser; except where noted[21]

Loss of Life track listing
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Loss of Life (Part 2)"
1:58
2."Mother Nature"
3:56
3."Dancing in Babylon" (featuring Christine and the Queens)
  • VanWyngarden
  • Goldwasser
  • Richardson
4:52
4."People in the Streets" 5:36
5."Bubblegum Dog"
  • VanWyngarden
  • Goldwasser
  • Richardson
4:21
6."Nothing to Declare" 3:33
7."Nothing Changes"
  • VanWyngarden
  • Goldwasser
  • Jon Fridmann
6:35
8."Phradie's Song"
4:54
9."I Wish I Was Joking" 3:46
10."Loss of Life"
  • VanWyngarden
  • Goldwasser
  • Fridmann
5:38
Total length:45:09

Personnel

[edit]

MGMT

Additional musicians

Technical

  • Brian Burton – production assistance (tracks 2, 3)
  • Matthew C – engineering (tracks 2, 4–6, 8)
  • Greg Calbi – mastering
  • Sam Darwish – engineering (tracks 3, 4, 6–9)
  • Dave Fridmann – mixing, engineering
  • Mike Fridmann – engineering (tracks 2–10)
  • James Kirk – engineering (track 3)
  • Daniel Lopatin – production (tracks 8, 10), production assistance (2–4, 6)
  • James Richardson – engineering, production assistance (track 1)
  • Miles BA Robinson – engineering, production assistance
  • Nathan Salon – engineering (tracks 2, 4, 6–8)
  • Patrick Wimberly – production

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Loss of Life
Chart (2024) Peak
position
Australian Digital Albums (ARIA)[22] 21
Australian Physical Albums (ARIA)[22] 21
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[23] 131
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[24] 185
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[25] 57
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[26] 65
Scottish Albums (OCC)[27] 19
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[28] 31
UK Album Downloads (OCC)[29] 13
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[30] 6
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[31] 49
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[32] 22

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Petridis, Alexis (February 22, 2024). "MGMT: Loss of Life review – surprise TikTok stars play to their strengths". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
  2. ^ Skinner, Tom (October 31, 2023). "MGMT announce fifth album Loss of Life and share nostalgic new single, 'Mother Nature'". NME. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  3. ^ Breihan, Tom (September 22, 2023). "MGMT Tease New Album Reportedly Titled Loss of Life". Stereogum. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  4. ^ Monroe, Jazz (September 22, 2023). "Are MGMT Teasing a New Album?". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  5. ^ Ruiz, Matthew Ismael (October 31, 2023). "MGMT Announce New Album Loss of Life, Share Video for New Song: Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  6. ^ Anderson, Carys (October 31, 2023). "MGMT Announce New Album Loss of Life, Share "Mother Nature": Stream". Consequence. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  7. ^ Sacher, Andrew (October 31, 2023). "MGMT announce new album Loss of Life, share "Mother Nature"". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  8. ^ "MGMT Returns With First LP In Five Years, Loss of Life". Spin. October 31, 2023. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Loss of Life by MGMT". Metacritic. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  10. ^ "MGMT – Loss of Life Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  11. ^ Boothroyd, Eve (February 22, 2024). "MGMT – Loss of Life | Reviews". Clash. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  12. ^ "MGMT Put the LOL in Loss of Life". Exclaim!. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  13. ^ Petridis, Alexis (February 22, 2024). "MGMT: Loss of Life review – surprise TikTok stars play to their strengths". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  14. ^ Jones, Abby (February 22, 2024). "MGMT – Loss of Life review: the duo remain relevant and potent". NME. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  15. ^ "MGMT Revel in the Vibrancy of Their Influences on Loss of Life". Paste Magazine. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  16. ^ "MGMT: Loss of Life Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  17. ^ "MGMT Love You to Death on Loss of Life". PopMatters. February 19, 2024. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  18. ^ "Loss of Life - MGMT | Album | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  19. ^ "MGMT: Loss of Life". Pitchfork.
  20. ^ Falcon, Russell (December 17, 2024). "The 10 best albums of 2024". KTLA.com.
  21. ^ "MGMT – Loss Of Life". Discogs.
  22. ^ a b "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 4 March 2024". The ARIA Report. No. 1774. Australian Recording Industry Association. March 4, 2024. pp. 7, 10.
  23. ^ "Ultratop.be – MGMT – Loss of Life" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  24. ^ "Ultratop.be – MGMT – Loss of Life" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  25. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – MGMT – Loss of Life" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  26. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – MGMT – Loss of Life". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
  27. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  28. ^ "Swisscharts.com – MGMT – Loss of Life". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  29. ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  30. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  31. ^ "MGMT Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  32. ^ "MGMT Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
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