Not Animal is the second album from Indianapolis’ Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s, but the version that Epic Records wanted (the band’s choice of tracks was released simultaneously as Animal!). That probably impacts the record; the band actually requests in their web presence that people listen to Animal! first. Since I began my research after listening to Not Animal I’ll never know if my experience was ruined by some nameless A&R hack.
That being said, I wasn’t all that impressed by Not Animal. Richard Edwards has a voice that sits about midway between James Mercer’s boyish half-whisper and Thom Yorke’s plaintive yawp; unfortunately that’s not the only thing about Margot that’s reminiscent of The Shins and Radiohead (though much more Shins). The opening notes of the lead track (awkwardly titled “A Children’s Crusade on Acid”) immediately snap “Paranoid Android” into mind. It gets promisingly edgy toward the end of the track with noisier guitars and a bit of Peter Gabriel synth (think “Games Without Frontiers”), but then the album plunges into a seven song mire of mid-tempo, uninteresting acoutic-y sludge (with titles like “Hello Vagina”, an impossibly dull song to have vagina as part of its name). In many ways it’s like a Shins record: the same theme at the same pace, just with a slightly different polish on each track. Sadly, Not Animal‘s bits of polish feel like they’re lifted from other places. The little pedal steel riffs are very 70s George Harrison; a quick trumpet swell reeks of “Penny Lane”; even the couple of bigger hooks are straight off of a Mae single (and Mae do big indie hooks really, really well).
Margot rescue themselves with two tracks late in the record (9 and 10 out of 12, respectively). ”Pages Written on a Wall” could be the theme from a Mexican carnival; it has a giant bold riff, a guitar tone that sounds like it’s ready to explode, a neat edge of trumpet, and all that over a Radar Love beat. Edwards finally sounds meaningful instead of mopey, like maybe he found a pair of balls in his distortion pedal with that awesome tone. ”Shivers (I’ve Got ‘Em)” takes the feel of the middle of the record and puts an electric sheen on it. It’s crunchier, more desperate. Edwards’ mope turns more into a plaintive cry, and that’s positive. The feel dances back and forth between 60s psych-pop and something Greg Kihn might’ve written (look up “The Breakup Song”. It’s worth your time.).
Overall, though, two great tracks can’t save Not Animal. Its same-ness is mostly broken by bits that have been done better by other people, and even that same-ness feels like another band. If their newer material sounds more like “Pages” and “Shivers”, though, Margot is going to be a band to be reckoned with. Hopefully Not Animal is a growing experience for them.
Final Grade: B. A dull, average record boosted by two standout tracks. Just download “Pages Written on a Wall”, “Shivers (I’ve Got ‘Em)”, and maybe “As Tall as Cliffs”.
Your Shitty Record Won't Review Itself 