After a six year dry spell, beloved psychedelic pop duo MGMT have returned with a new single in ‘Mother Nature’, which will appear on the band’s forthcoming fifth album, Loss of Life.
Never content with staying in one lane artistically, the new track represents another development and sense of maturation in the Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser’s sound, starting off relatively balladesque before reaching a powerful chorus and climax.
‘Mother Nature’ is a wistful track that according to the band sees them follow a theme that has supposedly recurred throughout their career of “one hero attempting to get the other hero to come on the journey that they ‘must’ go on.”
While there are some mainstays in their sound, aided by them teaming up with their longtime collaborators Dave Fridmann and Patrick Wimberly on production once more, there are fewer moments that take influence from the likes of The Flaming Lips or Mercury Rev and instead sees the band deliver their own take on adult contemporary with a slight touch of Oasis for good measure.
The album, which will arrive in February 2024, is their first release on Mom + Pop, having vacated their previous label home in Columbia, and follows their 2018 record Little Dark Age, a album that shone a light on MGMT’s moodier and more introspective side.
Loss of Life will also feature production contributions from the likes of Oneohtrix Point Never, Danger Mouse, and in a first for the band, contains a feature from Christine and the Queens.
The new track also comes accompanied by a partially-animated video; a cutesy tale of two friends (a dog and a turtle) uniting to rescue other animals from a wicked pet collector. Watch below to have your heart warmed.
Image: Loss of Life artwork / John Baldessari
