MGMT, Manchester Academy One

Hyped up as saviours of electro and bundled into the same semantic field as the likes of Justice it could come as something of a shock that what greets Academy One tonight look like a bunch of bedraggled hippies from the heyday of Pink Floyd. Hair is worn by the majority on stage in a post-surfer grunge style, falling into eyes and curling at necklines. Clothes have a distinctly laid back Californian edge and there is a tinge of the psychedelic about it all.

MGMT come across as a humble bunch. Floating onto the stage there is no hint of a diva-persona from any of then and it’s a 70s induced prog-like force which begins the set with guitar solos and intense drumming rather than crazy synth and heaving bass. And thank bloody hell it is! Although songs like ‘Time to Pretend’ and ‘Kids’ whirl into the air with a ferocity which gets the crowd moving as one as hands and limbs flail about it is softer songs like ‘The Youth’ which bring forth a delicate side of MGMT which is unexpected.

With the screech of vocal travelling high into the air it’s a modern tweak on the psychedelic past with a spaced-out whirl of music which the relentless drumming lends a continual flow too. Tonight MGMT are a five-piece, regardless of what promo pictures say to the contrary. The band is an integral part of the music as much as the front-men, although Andrew Vanwyngarden’s voice does transcend the room especially in ‘The Youth’ which becomes a hypnotic chant towards the end. ‘Pieces of What’ combines the strum of guitar with an edge to Vanwyngarden’s voice which harks back to early Rolling Stones with the essential ethos of rock’n’roll underlying the refrains.

‘Electric Feel’ grabs the crowd in it’s euphoric chorus as the band intensify their performance and the instrumentals roll seamlessly into one another and ‘Weekend Wars’ combines racous guitar with electro-stylings and the howling vocals which dip into a smooth reviere only to break over the verses.

What comes from tonights performance, apart from a penchant for crumpled t-shirts and alt-hippy hair styles, is MGMT’s swift assent from dingy backroom bars to established venue seems to have gone relitively easy and yet hasn’t knocked the band sideways with arrogance. They are unnaturally cool. Mick Jagger cool. The type of cool which touched the psych-bands that their sounds emulates yet brings snap-bang into the present. The music has energy and tightness and inspiration all packed into one with songs which evoke euphoria and nostalgia and excitement. Their live show is achingly good and not marred one bit by hype.