MGMT’s highly anticipated second album was released just a couple of weeks ago. Much more psychedelic and obscure than their earlier works, the new album, “Congratulations,” let down many MGMT fans. In interviews, the two members, Andrew Vanwyngarden and Ben Goldwasser, acknowledged this fact. Both were very upfront about it, stating all in all that was pretty much their goal. This album was meant to show the type of music they truly enjoy listening to and making.

The two have reported that most of their first album, like their best-known song, “Kids,” was actually written sardonically. They wrote many of the singles in college, and the songs circulated quickly around the Wesleyan University campus. But, neither Vanwyngarden nor Goldwasser thought this would be the type of music they would use to make a career. The popularity caused labeling, such as an electrop band, for which they did not care. These comments led to a rebellion against much of their fan base in the form of their second album.

“We wanted to make a mix of sixties sunshine pop and psychedelic groups of eighties English music,” Vanwyngarden told Brain Magazine. They also mentioned in interviews that they were trying to make an album with a certain amount of musical depth to it. Each time the audience listens to it, they should take away something different.

The duo has started on a quest to mainstream more abstract music. The feedback from their new album has proven this to be a difficult feat. The most popular song from the album thus far is “Congratulations,” which is by far the most “normal.”

Many artists claim they do not perform because of the money, but MGMT has taken it a step further. Amidst attention-driven performers like Lady Gaga and Ke$ha, they truly write the music for themselves.

In doing this, they take a bold step toward being true trend-setting hipsters-not the Mac-owning, Starbucks-drinking, Urban Outfitter wannabes.