Little Dark Age (song)

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"Little Dark Age"
MGMT - Little Dark Age single cover art.png
Single by MGMT
from the album Little Dark Age
ReleasedOctober 17, 2017
Genre
Length4:59
LabelColumbia
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)Andrew VanWyngarden
Producer(s)
MGMT singles chronology
"Your Life Is a Lie"
(2013) 		"Little Dark Age"
(2017) 		"When You Die"
(2017)

"Little Dark Age" is a song by American rock band MGMT. It was released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Little Dark Age, on October 17, 2017, through Columbia Records.

Release[]

Leading up to the song's release, the band made several posts on their social media hyping up the album and then upcoming single. On October 12, 2017, the band posted a video clip of the beginning instrumental of the song to their social media with the caption "#LittleDarkAge". "Little Dark Age" was released as a digital single on October 17 through Columbia Records. The song was released with an accompanying music video.[2][3]

Artwork[]

The cover art for the single is taken directly from a work of Japanese manga artist Suehiro Maruo.[4] In the text-bubble, the character states the following: "Oh, OK. It's bad to ask for something without offering something in return. So I will show you some magic. No tricks here. I call this 'Discovery of Africa.'"[5]

Critical reception[]

Little Dark Age received generally positive reviews from critics. Writing for Spin, Jeremy Gordon called the song "grim and playful". He said the song and video were "dark, but only a little, and the vibe feels appropriate for where they are now—older, and without office jobs, but recognizant of what's still gone wrong."[3] In late 2020, it experienced a resurgence in popularity due to a viral TikTok trend where hundreds of thousands utilized the song.[6][7]

Music video[]

The music video for "Little Dark Age", directed by David MacNutt and Nathaniel Axel, premiered on October 17, 2017.[8] The video was considered out of character and surprisingly gothic for the band. Jeremy Gordon of Spin called the video "Dada-esque".[3] The video has been viewed over 47 million times through the band's official Vevo account on YouTube.[9]

Charts[]

Chart (2017) Peak
position
Mexico Ingles Airplay (Billboard)[10] 37
US Alternative Digital Songs (Billboard)[11] 23
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[12] 32

References[]

  1. ^ Witmer, Phil (October 17, 2017). "MGMT Return as True Goths for Spooky Synth-Banger "Little Dark Age"". Noisey. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Lozano, Kevin (October 17, 2017). "MGMT - "Little Dark Age"". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c Gordon, Jeremy (October 17, 2017). "MGMT's Comeback Single Little Dark Age" Is Grim And Playful". Spin. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  4. ^ "LDA Artwork Source • r/mgmt". Reddit.
  5. ^ https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2017-10/24/5/asset/buzzfeed-prod-fastlane-03/sub-buzz-8384-1508838211-1.png
  6. ^ Gnewikow, Tara (2020-10-30). "REVIEW: 10 Songs for your Halloween playlist that aren't 'Monster Mash'". The State Hornet. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  7. ^ little dark age by MGMT | Popular songs on TikTok, 2020-09-02, retrieved 2020-11-01
  8. ^ Blais-Billie, Braudie (October 17, 2017). "Watch MGMT's Video for New Song "Little Dark Age"". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  9. ^ "MGMT - Little Dark Age (Video)". MGMT. 2017-10-17. Retrieved 2020-10-19 – via YouTube.
  10. ^ "MGMT Chart History (Mexico Ingles Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  11. ^ "MGMT Chart History (Alternative Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  12. ^ "MGMT Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
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