Check out MGMT’s enchanting new single ‘Nothing To Declare’

Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngardenof MGMT performs on stage at the 94/7 Electric Picnic at Hillsboro Stadium in Hillsboro, Oregon

MGMT have shared the stunning new single ‘Nothing To Declare’. Check it out below.

Released today (January 10), the new track is the latest from their new album, ‘Loss Of Life’, and sees them take a familiar, sombre approach.

Quietly contemplative and cinematic, ‘Nothing To Declare’ also comes with a new music video, directed by Joey Frank. It follows Inga Petry, a student at the University of Pittsburgh, who uses her growing social media platform to spread awareness for the disabled community.

In the visuals, the camera follows Petry, who was born with upper limb aplasia, through Paris as she makes her way through the city to arrive at the iconic sculpture of the Venus de Milo at the Louvre.

If I’m worlds away, I’m holding mountains in my hands/ Starlight ain’t never gonna let me down/ Until I stumble like a drunkard back to town,” sings Andrew VanWyngarden in the chorus. “Then I end up where you are/ Keeping the sanctuary warm/ Don’t ask me who I am/ Don’t ask me where I was.

Check it out below.

“When I first saw Inga on TikTok, I imagined her as the star of a foreign film. A certain brand of 1990’s European independent cinema typified by the Dardenne brothers always essentially follows a human navigating through life,” said director Joey Frank of the video’s concept.

“Inga has been armless all her life, which lends a different kind of vulnerability to the simple narrative of a self-possessed young woman travelling from Pittsburgh to Paris. In real life, Inga puts herself online in a very candid way on TikTok, but the ‘Nothing to Declare’ MGMT music video plays on the aesthetics of independent cinema to allow the audience a different sort of emotional fictive space with Inga as ingenue.”

Petry added: “Having grown up with no arms, I have been watched my whole life. In some respects, the Venus de Milo has always felt analogous to my life, and specifically to the character I portray in this film. She’s adored, respected, and almost constantly surrounded by people, and yet she stands alone and her past is unknown.

“There have always been questions surrounding her arms and she has never had to answer or prove her worth. From my perspective, she has nothing to declare. Playing this character that is different, and not just because she doesn’t have arms, but by the way she handles the difference and still feeds on new curiosity was a really beautiful experience.”

MGMT, 2023 press image
MGMT. CREDIT: Jonah Freeman

The track is the latest to be shared from MGMT’s upcoming album ‘Loss Of Life’. Set to arrive on February 23 via Mom + Pop Music, the LP is the band’s first in nearly six years, and arrives as the long-awaited follow-up to 2018’s ‘Little Dark Age’.

VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser produced the 10-track project alongside Patrick Wimberly (Solange, Lil Yachty), and it was mixed by Longtime collaborator Dave Fridmann.

Christine and the Queens is set to appear on the song ‘Dancing in Babylon’ – the first-ever feature on an MGMT album, and Brian Burton (Danger Mouse) provides additional production on ‘Mother Nature’.

Pre-order the album here and check out the tracklisting below.

The ‘Loss Of Life’ tracklist is:

1. ‘Loss Of Life (part 2)’
2. ‘Mother Nature’
3. ‘Dancing In Babylon’ (featuring Christine and the Queens)
4. ‘People In The Streets’
5. ‘Bubblegum Dog’
6. ‘Nothing To Declare’
7. ‘Nothing Changes’
8. ‘Phradie’s Song’
9. ‘I Wish I Was Joking’
10. ‘Loss Of Life’

The latest taster of the new album arrived back in November, when the band dropped the ‘90s-inspired single ‘Bubblegum Dog’.

It also came with a music video, which depicted VanWyngarden and Goldwasser paying tribute to numerous scenes from classic alternative videos from the decade.

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