Whats This Playlist All About?: The psych-pop duo gives us no context beyond the title, so we can only presume this mix of old, obscure tracks is somehow linked to their recent single "When You Die," a barbed and bitter psychedelic journey into permanent darkness.What You Get: An organ- and synth-infused distillation of MGMTs own dark, sardonic fascination with death. Youll float through ancient worlds with buzzing, blipping sounds from minimalist mastermind Terry Riley, Arabic pop star Ahmed Fakroun, and Nigerian electric-organ virtuoso Mamman Sani, then make pit stops through retro-futuristic realms dominated by doomy 80s synth bands.Greatest Discovery: This playlist is full of fascinating finds, but lets go with XEX, an 80s band from New Jersey doing icy, androgynous synth-pop long before the likes of Ladytron could even hold a synth. According to their Bandcamp page, the group could not afford to release their 1981 album xex:change, and thus it sat in obscurity for over three decades.Is This an Appropriate Soundtrack for Your Funeral? Absolutely. Its dark, sometimes nightmarish, and may have your more metaphysically minded loved ones feel like theyre escaping their bodies right alongside you.
