Released April 17, 2010 Length 12:09 | Format 12" vinyl Label Columbia | |
Genre Psychedelic rock
progressive rock
art rock Writer(s) Andrew VanWyngarden
Ben Goldwasser | ||
"Siberian Breaks" is a song by the American rock band MGMT, released as the second single from their second studio album Congratulations (2010) as an exclusive release part of Record Store Day on April 17, 2010. It is the longest track on the album and MGMT's second longest song to date, clocking in a minute and a half behind "Metanoia." Andrew VanWyngarden has said that Siberian Breaks is his favorite song on the album. The song was released as a limited-edition 12" blue marble vinyl single for Record Store Day 2010, featuring the full 12-minute album version of "Siberian Breaks" on side A, with side B featuring a special etched design. There were 2000 copies pressed and it has been said to be "the perfect companion piece to the album". VanWyngarden has said of the song, "It's kind of like eight different songs strung together into one, and the general theme is about surfing in the Arctic Circle by Russia."
Reception
"...One of which is 'Siberian Breaks', MGMT's most ambitious undertaking yet. Just over 12 minutes long, 'Siberian Breaks' starts off in breezy MOR fashion, gentle harmonies giving it a 70s Todd Rundgren-vibe. Soon, though, they're ramping up the reverb, 'Siberian Breaks' taking its first left turn after 2 minutes, veering into a quietly seething stomp and then turning into a different song entirely 4 minutes in, resembling the Twin Peaks soundtrack if Jason Pierce got his valium-stained mitts on it. Next, airy, atmospheric keyboards lead it out of the hazy wilderness before the chorus (well, sort of) comes booming in at around 8 minutes. But hold on – we ain't finished yet, or rather 'Siberian Breaks' isn't – just when you think the whole thing is about to peter out 10 minutes in (IDIOT!), in comes bleeping, starry-eyed synths, twinkling like the intro to Radiohead's 'Let Down' and lending 'Siberian Breaks' a suitably cosmic finale. MGMT tried out a 14-minute song on 'Oracular…' b-side 'Metanoia'"
"It’s almost unfair to discuss Siberian Breaks in a track-by-track review because it feels like more than one track. In 12 minutes, it carries out the promises made by Flash Delirium and changes shape constantly and without warning. Andrew Vanwyngarden has said Siberian Breaks is about eight different songs strung together - and listening to it again, eight might be underestimating things. The song begins in the same folkadelic territory as Song For Dan Treacy but steadfastly refuses to stay put. Over its full course, Siberian Breaks grows to accommodate distorting synthesizers, stadium-sized drums and a change of time signature. It passes through a shimmering synthtopia to a powerful glam chorus (of sorts) and finally runs out of steam in an ambient delirium of bleeping synths. The sections sometimes blend seamlessly together and sometimes jar uncomfortably but you have to admire the ambition of this rag-tag monolith."