After nine months of surfing the Pacific and recording in a Malibu home studio, MGMT member Andrew VanWyngarden is paddling back to shore and suiting up for the band's sophomore release, "Congratulations."

The album is slated to drop in early 2010, as VanWyngarden told the San Francisco Examiner when the band performed at last weekend's Treasure Island festival.  "Congratulations" is produced by Pete "Sonic Boom" Kember of Spacemen 3/Spectrum, and Jennifer Herrema of Royal Trux contributes vocals.

MGMT's 2007 debut "Oracular Spectacular" created a tidal wave that carried the psychedelic indie-pop duo from Brooklyn buzz band to international fame.  The album has sold 508,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

MGMT's ricochet to popularity was inevitably accompanied by mass attention and a share of ordeals, including a recently settled lawsuit with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.  VanWyngarden and bandmate Ben Goldwasser headed west in January to escape the commotion and focus on recording.  There, VanWyngarden learned to surf and found solace in the waves, as he told the Examiner.

Fans can expect "Congratulations" to ride a bleaker edge than the happy-go-lucky "Oracular Spectacular," as the duo reflect on their journey.

"The song 'Congratulations' itself is pretty dark," VanWyngarden told the Examiner.  "It's us trying to deal with all the craziness that's been going on since our last album took off. Sometimes it just doesn't feel natural."