As someone unfamiliar with Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s previous song catalog (I know, I should have done my homework), I cannot attest to frontman Richard Edwards’ assessment of Margot’s dual sophomore efforts as a rawer, noisier and edgier follow-up to 2005’s the Dust of Retreat. But I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.
Animal!, a vinyl release, and Not Animal, a CD – both of which will be released on October 7th – depict the Indiana-based indie-pop-collective’s ability to blend percussion, violin, sometimes gentle, sometimes powerful vocals and traditional rock instruments in genre-transcending, barrier-breaking fashion. The result is a sophisticated rendering of a musical atmosphere. The constant oscillation between delicate orchestra-esque melodies and somewhat heavy electric instrumentation develops an intriguing yet consistent mood.
There are a few distinct listener-friendly musical climaxes; “As Tall as Cliffs” infuses folksy strumming with smart lyrics and layered vocals to create a melody that pleases my inner Belle and Sebastian fan. “Cold, Kind, and Lemon Eyes” beautifully creates a soundscape of sadness while remaining intriguing. “There’s Talk of Mine Shafts” is a playfully orchestrated track.
But then there are those songs that, despite moments of near musical perfection, fail to fully materialize and instead seem overly fragmented. The silver lining of such fragmentation is that each individual instrument gets at least one shining moment, at least one opportunity to articulate its contribution to a cumulative effect. And this is a musical effort whose cumulative effect is greater than its individual songs – the heart of Animal!/Not Animal lies in its arrangements, in the organic evolution of the album as a whole. It is a musical effort that is more of an experience than anything else; few of the songs stay with me, but I’m certainly glad I went along for the ride.
Rating: 6.7/10
0 crazy comments:
Post a Comment