Turn Left At The Womble: Turn Left At the Womble- MGMT extract

With the forthcoming release of the new MGMT album, here's an extract from "Turn Left at the Womble" about what I thought of them at Glastonbury in 2010...

Now that’s what I call a jacket…

We staggered back to Sacha just as MGMT were warming up. If Grizzly Bear were sun-kissed psychedelic retro-pop then this lot took it to a whole new level. Although the National and Grizzly Bear were dressed in an unassuming fashion, so low-key that they could have swapped places with most of the audience (and that to me is a “good thing”) then MGMT were definitely going for “we-are-on-stage-and-we-have-found-a -dressing -up-box- from- the- 60’s” look. Unlike Florence & the Machine though their dress code was more than matched by the music. It was like the spirit of Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd had been transported forty years hence. Unlike Grizzly Bear and their sort of math rock, jazz stylings, this was pop, pure pop, but twisted and refracted to a point almost beyond recognition. They sounded like one of the more wayward tracks from an obscure band on the Nuggets compilations, but playing on better equipment and with knowledge of what had happened in the past four decades. At the end of the set, they played a long long jam. There were dancers on stage, confetti fluttering around, it was getting close to 8.00 pm and although the sun was just starting to dip lower in the sky, it was still hot. The music and the weather dovetailed as if made for each other. It truly was a special way to end the afternoon. Peace and love.