Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s are a 7 piece indie rock/chamber folk outfit from Indianapolis. Buzzard is their third effort after 2008’s simultaneous double releases Animal and Not Animal on Epic Records, and 2006’s The Dust of Retreat. Buzzard represents a significant step forward for the band, a fuller, thicker yet also grungier and more appealing sound present here when compared to previous records.
Over nearly an hour, the album is by turns wrenching, bluesy and cinematic, and shows off a certain amount of southern twang. There are moments where they sound like a more mature 78 Saab or less raucous Girls outfit. At times lo-fi and drenched in reverb, it makes me think of being a lazy drifting surfer with big dreams and but little motivation to do anything but wait around for the next swell.
There’s a certain rejection of consumerism and materialism present at times in the themes of the record: “If I could roll up my money and smoke it, I would”, as well as the ever-present standbys of love, loss and youthful apathy and anger. By and large, the vocals of Richard Edwards fit in quite well, and you can tell he is a good singer, but I do wonder what could have been if he’d stretched himself a bit more.
This is uplifting stuff, certainly, but it does lack that extra bit of oomph or zest that would make it a truly important album of this year. Foot-tapping it is, however, and I’m excited to see where next for the So and So’s.
Buzzard (2010) [fileserve]
