Epic disagreement leads to unique solution
By Kevin W. Smith
KSMITH@AZSTARNET.COM
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 10.09.2008
Disagreements between artist and record label are common, but consider the case of Margot & The Nuclear So and So's.
Margot makes bittersweet orchestral folk, wrapping melancholy vocals in a blanket of violin, cello, lap steel, guitar, keyboard, bass and drums.
For its major-label debut for Epic Records, the Indiana-based eight-piece amassed an extensive collection of material.
When it came time to pick the songs that would form the album, the band and record label couldn't agree.
So Margot and Epic reached an unusual compromise: package two different albums in different formats.
"Animal!" is the way the band intended the music to be heard. It is being released only on vinyl that comes with a card offering access to a digital download.
"Not Animal" is being released on CD and digitally and features the songs Epic chose.
When we talked to Margot leader, songwriter, guitarist and singer Richard Edwards in May, he was excited about the work his band had recorded but said Epic was less impressed.
Edwards insisted Margot would not rerecord any songs.
"We told them we don't do that, no matter who we're on," he said. "If we feel like the thing is really great, we just worked on it for three months, we're tired — then that's it."
No one from Epic Records was available for comment.
On its MySpace blog, Margot is calling "Animal!" its second album — the first being 2005's "The Dust of Retreat" — and is encouraging fans to listen to it first.
"Animal!" and "Not Animal" each contain roughly a dozen songs. And although they only share five songs, the contrast is great.
Vinyl and digital
Album reviews
"Animal!" and "Not Animal" by Margot & the Nuclear So and So's. Epic Records. "Animal!" was released Tuesday on vinyl and digital download. "Not Animal" is available on CD and digitally.
"Animal!"
The recording sessions for "Animal!" and "Not Animal" were reportedly done during a cold winter in Chicago while the band was facing several personal hardships.
The dark, somber journey of "Animal!" might be a better reflection of where the band's heart was during the inception of the songs.
This could also make it a harder sell for a major label known for putting commerce above integrity.
"Animal!" begins with the haunting-to-carefree shift of "At The Carnival," the first of two six-minute tracks.
The album is marked by layers of haze and themes of confusion, paranoia and depression, used to great effect in "Cold, Kind, And Lemon Eyes," and "My Baby (Shoots Her Mouth Off.)"
Though "Animal!" is relatively strong throughout, things never really get past the cloudy, can't-get-out-of-bed vibe.
Several artists have made a career out of far less.
"Not Animal"
After listening to "Animal!," "Not Animal" sounds like a bid to net a wider audience.
Margot was hailed as one of the top acts to watch in 2008 by Spin magazine at the beginning of the year, so perhaps Epic worried about dropping the lemon-sucking "Animal!" as evidence.
The band has referred to "Not Animal" as a "label compilation" rather than a proper Margot album, but it's definitely the more accessible of the two.
"Not Animal" retains some of the better tracks from "Animal!" like "A Children's Crusade On Acid," "Cold, Kind, And Lemon Eyes" and "As Tall As Cliffs."
The song selection also keeps the greater mood from requiring a Prozac prescription.
There's more energy on "Not Animal," more excitement in the minutes of the swaggering "The Shivers (I've Got 'Em)" or the thunderstorming, horn stampede of "Pages Written On A Wall" than almost the entirety of its band-approved companion.
Other standouts include the harmonica trot of "Broadripple Is Burning!" and the eerie organs and harmonies of "Real Naked Girls."
The verdict
If "Animal!" is the band's winter of discontent, "Not Animal" is the spring around the bend.
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