The Loop : Margot and the Nuclear So and So's - The Dust of Retreat

Margot and the Nuclear So and So's - The Dust of Retreat (2006)

Crazy as it is to believe, I'm often wrong about music. I KNOW. This is clear in the stacks full of dusty pop/punk CDs that live in my parent's garage now that I bought simply because the boys were cute. I also once listened to a lot of female empowerment rock through elementary school and went to a Jessica Simpson concert not only as a wingman for my friend who was taking a boy with us, but because I kind of liked the song. Further justification of the "10 Years of Unapologetic . . . " side of this blog series.

However, one of my biggest mistakes was dismissing Margot and the Nuclear So and So's right off the bat. I first heard them at a movie theatre in Phoenix during some of the scrolling previews BEFORE the movie previews before the movie. The announcer blasted over the speakers (imagine in MovieFone type voice), "And now, this is Margot and the Nuclear So and So's song "Skeleton Key" off of their album The Dust of Retreat!" I remember immediately turning to my brother and saying "wow, what a stupid name!" and ignoring the song as it played fuzzy over the speakers (seriously, they ALWAYS do) I saw a couple of movies during that time and every time I remember thinking "Wow, what a stupid name!" and "wow, there are a lot of people in that band." I can still picture their promo shot, with all 9 of them in a row and Richard at front. It looked like a ska band.

Later on my friend Jaime asked if I wanted to go with her to see them at Modified Arts. I remember she asked me really far in advance and I think I said yes because at the time concerts were cheap and I loved live music. However, January rolled around and I think both of us forgot about it. Now that I think about it, it would have been awesome to see all 8 of them crammed onto that stage.

It wasn't until I was browsing all things Dear and the Headlights that their name popped up again. I think I was looking at a message board and someone mentioned that DATH should play with Margot (which they eventually did) and several people agreed. I couldn't remember what the song I heard sounded like but I was shocked because of how much I loved DATH that this band wouldn't have caught my ear right away. I pulled up iTunes and found The Dust of Retreat. I listened to a few :30 snippets and decided I liked it, so i bought it.

I put it on a few times in the car or while walking around campus and realized I recognized "Skeleton Key" and the songs slowly made their way into my consciousness. The sound was described as "chamber pop" with an absolutely electric lead vocalist in Richard Edwards. Often times these chamber pop bands can lose focus and drift off into an indie jam fest, but Margot was careful to keep the songs short and captivating. Although the comparison was drawn to DATH, it is one of the few records I remember thinking that it sounded like nothing I had ever heard before. For a lot of my favorite records, I hear a certain song after several listens and have an epiphany of, "OMG, this is an amazing song!!!" and quickly turn to obsesession. For this record, it was "On a Freezing Chicago Street" as I was getting ready to go out that night. This was at the advent of posting videos on Facebook so I dug through YouTube to find a live video to share. I left a caption something along the lines of "WHERE HAS THIS BAND BEEN ALL MY LIFE?!"

Well, as a matter of fact, they were there all along. Thankfully I finally took the time to listen.