Writing a hugely successful indie-rock anthem can have its pitfalls. Having released a clutch of the kind of songs that make skinny-jeaned scenesters foam at the mouth, New York’s MGMT know all about them. Earlier this year, they bored an audience to comatose proportions when their Oxegen set was disrupted by a crowd who found punters scaling the rigging more interesting than what was happening on stage. Nonetheless, it’s remarkable to think that Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser have sold-out two nights at the Ambassador just eight months after their Irish debut. Yeah, those indie anthems have their advantages, too.
And it’s clear that the majority of the crowd are here solely to jump around to those tracks – only a stone-legged miserabalist would fail to be moved by their sheer exuberance. It’s the in-between material that’s the problem: songs that are endurable on their album are stretched to extravagant proportions, creating a complete vacuum of interest for two-thirds of their set. ‘Of Moons, Birds And Monsters’ is among a handful of drone-rock-tinged tunes that nod to The Brian Jonestown Massacre or The Jesus And Mary Chain – not ideal for sustaining momentum and holding an expectant crowd’s attention.
They triumph when they do get it right, though, and ‘Time To Pretend’ is suitably heart-soaring, as is the funktastic ‘Electric Feel’. It doesn’t compensate for the tedious karaoke version of closer ‘Kids’, though – a recitation that’s maximum volume and minimum effort. An unfortunate case of style over substance – at least in the live arena.