There are 8 of them, and they are not only in a band together, they live under the same roof – with only two bathrooms. These conditions can often be the recipe for disaster, but for the musical collective Margot & the Nuclear So & So's (named after the character in The Royal Tenenbaums) they work out quite nicely thankyouverymuch.
The sound is sometimes characterized as "chamber pop." I'm not quite sure I know what that means, but I suppose it has something to do with the crazy amount of instrumentation that is going on. Everyone in the band plays multiple instruments, and in addition to your traditional four piece setup, you may also hear melodica, banjo, synths, lap steel, cello, & trumpet.
None of this produces an unusual cacophony of sound, quite the contrary; a collection of smartly penned silky smooth tracks with dreamy vocals and alluring harmonies led by singer Richard Edwards's emotionally subtle voice. The band has been compared to indie brethren The Decemberists, The Shins, and Arcade Fire, and they were named as part of Spin magazine's "Who's Next For 2008." Margot songs were also recently featured on the Fox TV program Bones.
Margot & The Nuclear So & So's are currently touring in support of their two full length CD's simultaneously released on Oct 7th, Animal, and Not Animal. The group will play at The Earl on Friday Nov 7th.
–Bill Cunningham
