The members of indie-pop duo MGMT, Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden, met when they were freshmen at Wesleyan University, and they’ve formed the core of the band ever since, with a rotating group of studio and touring musicians. That level of close collaboration can be intense, and so for the group’s latest album, last year’s Little Dark Age, Goldwasser and VanWyngarden worked separately at first, exchanging recordings via email before eventually getting together to finish the music. The result is the band’s most accessible, pop-oriented album since their 2007 debut, Oracular Spectacular, spawning radio singles “Little Dark Age,” “When You Die” and “Me and Michael.”
“We’ve gone through times where we had disagreements or it’s been tense,” VanWyngarden told The Guardian last year. “But we rode it out and it seems good now.” After experiencing major success with early singles “Time to Pretend” “Electric Feel” and “Kids,” MGMT retreated a bit from fame, creating deliberately difficult music even as they continued to place high on the album charts. But Little Dark Age features what Rolling Stone calls “concise tunes built from cushy keyboard beats and cute, kiting melodies.”
The Pearl at Palms, 8 p.m. Nov. 21, starting at $34.95 plus tax and fee. 702.944.3200
