Margot & the Nuclear So and Sos, “Mariel’s Brazen Overture,” from their latest album “Animal”
Alllright, so I didn’t used to be a Margot & the Nuclear So and Sos fan. I confess - I thought my taste was just too cool for some semi-emo maudlin teenage pop-sop shit (I mean, they’re named after Margot from The Royal Tennenbaums). But as I’ve mellowed out, along with it has come a new appreciation and love for artists that include Bon Iver, Broken Social Scene, and now, Margot & the Nuclear So and Sos.
Yes, I am in soft, lacy, heart-rending, river-swimming, fist-gnawing love with their new album “Animal”. The word is that this album features the version of the track list that the artists actually wanted, while “Not Animal,” the official release, is comprised of the songs and the track list that the band preferred. The albums share five songs, but the order is different— and “Not Animal” loses out. This song and its part 2, “There’s Talk of Mine Shafts,” are absolutely beautiful, folksy, wide-reaching, and narrative (like Rilo Kiley at their best)… and are only found on “Animal.”
The album is very different than what I’ve heard from them before: this sounds like Radiohead meets Stars (I’m pretty sure Stars’s Amy Millan is the source of the sweet voice in ‘Mariel’s…’ and ‘…Mine Shafts), paralleling Beirut’s attempt toward orchestral grandeur in “The Flying Club Cup.”
But you can press play and decide whether you agree.
