Margot and the Nuclear So and So's

Gahhh! I so wanted "Animal!" to be a better album than "Not Animal." Gotta say... I'm disappointed... Ever since I tried to figure out the reason Margot and the Nuclear So and So's put out two albums with similar titles and covers, I have been fascinated by this band.

For those of you not familiar, Margot and the Nuclear So and So's got into a fight with their label over their 2008 sophomore album "Animal!" and came up with a unique compromise. Namely they let their label release a homogenized version of the album on CD calling it "Not Animal." "Animal!," the album the band wanted was only released on vinyl and has a very different track selection.

Now I don't deny that "Not Animal" is a bit overproduced and too Death Cabby for me (dont get me started on Ben Gibbard), but it just has a better overall energy. Not to mention my favorite song on the album "Broadripple is Burning" didn't make the cut on "Animal!"

"Animal!" is a much darker, slower album. A lot of the chord progressions are a bit more challenging then its poppy sibling's. Songs like I Am A Lightening Rod are a perfect example of such. It's clearly experimental, oscillating wildly between dissonant and consonant sections... I also really like "There's talk of mine shafts," not so much focusing on the lyrics, just dig the thoughtful thick string section.

A wise music professor once taught me that you cannot play fast without slow, sad without happy and start in the middle so you don't shoot your wad all at once. I seem to recall a fantastic author having similar theories... That's my complaint about "Animal!" namely that its relatively monotone with a few exceptions.

For those interested in "Animal!" you can listen to it in its entirety here.

I think this is a case where compromise might have resulted in a better album from both rather than two that only kind of work. If you have both you can mix and match. That said, I'm glad Margot and the Nuclear So and So's stuck to their artistic integrity even though it wasn't my thing. Too often you hear bands being overpowered by their producers and forced to put out crap that sounds like everyone else... or ben gibbard...

As a side note, the video below is one of the reasons I fell in love with this band...



Such an awesome idea, it just makes me sad its already been done :)