mitchellrocksforjustice:

Margot & The Nuclear So and So’s - Birds

First Impression Album Review: Buzzard (2010) by Margot & The Nuclear So and So’s

On first listen, the new album from Margot & The Nuclear So and So’s is everything you could possibly want from the explosive indie rock group.  It’s not nearly as upbeat as their past albums, but it is chock full of moody anthems and melancholy, almost tragic lullabies.  Lead vocalist Richard Edwards and co. craft carefully orchestrated melodies that boasts full instrumentation, all the while featuring Edwards’ signature strained vocals and earnest tone of voice.  It’s a tribute to the band that, while some of the tracks sound similar, the album is never boring.  In fact, it’s more of a wave of glorious angst, sort of a sleeper record that you can throw on in the background of a good book or smoke a good cigar to.

The opener, “Birds,” is one of my favorite tracks from the new album and also the most upbeat song from Buzzard, full of building guitars that swirl around the verses and triumphant chorus.  Elsewhere, the band touches on more acoustic tributes to offbeat love affairs in “Lunatic, Lunatic, Lunatic” and “Your Lower Back.”  As if to prove that the sometimes surreal act hasn’t lost their weirdness, they also include an ode to robots (“Tiny Vampire Robot”) and aliens (“Earth to Aliens: What Do They Want?”)  While the meaning behind these songs is more obtuse, they still add to the overall brooding tone of the album.

I hope I’m not conveying that Buzzard is depressing; it’s not.  The signature of Margot & The Nuclear So & So’s is that they write pensive tunes with a certain wit and abandon that allows them to write about heartache and breakups with something bordering on liberation.  Lyrically and musically, the growth of the band is apparent and their hold on the indie rock scene seems to be tightening.  A solid effort from an increasingly solid band.

3.5/5

(Source: mitchellrocksforjustice, via rebjukebox-deactivated20120330)