MGMT opted for Edvard Munch’s Selvportrett ved vinflasken (Self-portrait with bottle of wine, 1906) for the artwork for "Hand it Over", the third single from their forthcoming fourth studio album Little Dark Age (February 2018). The eminent Norwegian painter appears to be unexpectedly influential in America at this point in time: the Scandinavia House (The Nordic Center in America) in New York is currently showcasing his photography and films in The Experimental Self: Edvard Munch’s Photography exhibition, while the Metropolitan Museum examines his late-career paintings with the Edvard Munch: Between the Clock and the Bed exhibition. His most famous paintings (e.g. The Scream) may have foregrounded mental anguish and modern alienation, but his larger body of work points towards his perceptiveness of how the (then) new technologies of the camera and film could be used as a tool of self-transformation and self-fashioning.
Similar preoccupations can be found on Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser's latest single. Lyrically, the song appears to be the epilogue to the anxiety-ridden "When You Die" and the gothic-inflected "Little Dark Age". The subtext is the duo's rebellion against record label (and the public's) expectations of them to follow up on the massive hits they delivered with their debut album: 'The deals we made to shake things up/ And the rights that they abused/ Might just fuck us over/ But the doors won't shut/ Until they're sure there's nothing left to use'.
It is always much harder to stay true to your artistic calling when there is so much money and fame in the equation. Like Munch, they appear to be keenly aware of how their musical output will define their role and indentity in the present, as well as their place in music history. The way forward is not spelled out in any certain terms ('Hey, it's time to hand it over/ Just give me what's mine'), but the track's gauzy and psychedelic production spells out an assurance that they will inevitably get their dues. In a recent profile in Q Magazine, Goldwasser was optimistic about their capacity to balance a more pop-leaning sound with lyrical sophistication - as well as their intentions to connect more directly with their audience: "We've really tried to connect with people on this record, so it'd be really rewarding to see the songs reach people, and live a life". Mission accomplished, thus far.
