Little Dark Age (song)

"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. In an interview with Newsweek, Andrew VanWyngarden, the lead vocalist, guitar player and songwriter for the band stated that 1980s Soviet synth-pop was influential to the song.

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.

Artwork
The cover art for the single is taken directly from a work of Japanese manga artist Suehiro Maruo. 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.'"

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."

Music video
The music video for "Little Dark Age", directed by David MacNutt and Nathaniel Axel, premiered on October 17, 2017. The video was considered out of character and surprisingly gothic for the band. Jeremy Gordon of Spin called the video "Dada-esque". As of August 2022, the video has been viewed over 100 million times through the band's official Vevo account on YouTube.

Resurgence and online usage
In late 2020, it experienced a resurgence in popularity due to a viral TikTok trend where hundreds of thousands utilized the song. A report published in August 2021 by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue found that "Little Dark Age" was "by far the most popular Sound among extremist creators on TikTok" and was central to videos promoting "Hyperborea and a wider trend of esoteric Nazism." The song has also been used to soundtrack clips of anime, superhero movies, video games, Renaissance art as well as a wide range of social issues, including transgender rights, the Black Lives Matter movement and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In 2024, Alexis Petridis of The Guardian wrote: "Certainly its adoption doesn't say much for your average neo-Nazi's ability to understand English. Little Dark Age's lyrics are, fairly obviously, an excoriation of Trump-era America and racist police violence."

On June 29, 2024, an election campaign advertisement using a slowed-down, unauthorized version of the song was posted to Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak's X account, promoting the Conservative Party's stance on the British Military. The video was also posted to Sunak's account on Facebook, from which it was removed on July 1. The band has sent numerous takedown notices sent to X and a cease and desist letter sent to the Tories, but the video has not been removed from the site. On July 4 (UK election day), MGMT responded to the Conservative Party's usage of the song in a statement to NME: "How many times do we have to remind you jokers that this song is NOT fair game for your utter garbage? Let's all laugh at this dingus. Clock's ticking, mate. Happy Independence Day".

Credits

 * Andrew VanWyngarden – vocals, synthesizer, programming, producer
 * Ben Goldwasser – synthesizer, programming, producer
 * James Richardson – additional bass guitar
 * Patrick Wimberly – producer
 * Dave Fridmann – producer