Margot & the Nuclear So and So's: A review/preview

It’s not uncommon for a band making the leap from the indies to the majors to have some disagreements with its deep-pocketed but often creatively impaired new boss. What is uncommon is resolving those conflicts by releasing two different albums—one to appease the band, the other to appease the label.

But that’s the route Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s and their new label, Epic, decided to take. The Indianapolis eight-piece just released Animal! (the band’s preferred version) digitally and on vinyl, while Not Animal is available on CD, digital and vinyl. The two records have five songs in common, but according to Margot member and Columbus musician Erik Kang, Animal! feels a bit darker.

“It probably reflects the fact that we were cooped up in a studio in Chicago during the coldest months of the winter,” Kang said. “I think there’s some songs on (Not Animal) that are a little bit lighter. Some people may like it better because of that.”

Kang, an alumnus of cowtown bands Tiara, the Emerald Down and Alasdair, joined Margot in 2006—a few months after the release of the band’s debut, The Dust of Retreat—and now handles violin and lap-steel duties. He admits there was some uncomfortable wrangling over the new album(s).

“It’s a complicated situation when you present music that you spent two months working on night and day,” he said. “To present what we felt was the strongest record, to have that rejected, you can’t help but take that personally and be hurt and be upset by it. It was really important to us to have that record released.”

At the same time, though, Kang said the band recognizes the strengths of Not Animal. “These were not songs that we never wanted to see the light of day,” he said. “We were proud of all of them. It was just a matter of which songs flowed the right way.”

Still, Kang recommends purchasing Animal! to hear the album the way the band intended it to sound. “We picked the songs that flowed the best and made sense as an entity itself. Not Animal is more just a collection of songs. They don’t necessarily flow as a record,” he said.

Both new albums reveal a much different band than Dust of Retreat-era Margot, trading some of its slightly emo tendencies for more orchestral, layered, atmospheric chamber pop. The hooks aren’t as immediate, and some of Retreat’s childlike spark is gone, but the slow burn usually pays off.

Is Animal! vastly superior to Not Animal? Not really, but it would have been a shame to miss out on the former’s boozy, string-heavy “Mariel’s Brazen Overture” and “There’s Talk of Mine Shafts.” Both find singer Richard Edwards in a duet with keyboardist Emily Watkins, whose ethereal harmonies can be found all over the new songs.

In general, Margot has discovered how to be an eight-piece without always sounding like an eight-piece, forgoing the bombastic tendencies of large bands. Edwards’ voice is always up front in the mix, often with scant accompaniment.

“Having all the instruments isn’t a gimmick,” Kang said. “It just makes sense for the songs that we’re doing. We’re very cautious and sensitive to only having the parts that really matter for the song and not overcrowding it.”

On the current tour, which will make a stop in Columbus on Sunday for the first time since Kang joined the band, fans can probably expect to hear more from Animal! than Not Animal because that’s the record Margot wanted to put together, Kang said.

Plus, the band has been keeping tallies of which album is selling better, and overall, Animal! is winning.

“So we’re right,” Kang said, laughing.

Margot & the Nuclear So and So's will perform Sunday at Skully's, 1151 N. High St., along with Judgement Day and David Vandervelde. Doors open at 6 p.m.; all ages. 614-291-8856.

(Also at The Other Paper)