Dust of Retreat (Exco)

Margot & the Nuclear So and So's | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 28, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Indieblue Music
• ASIN: B000E6TZLK
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #92,713 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. A Sea Chanty Of Sorts

2. Skeleton Key

3. Vampires In Blue Dresses

4. Quiet As A Mouse

5. Jen Is Bringin' The Drugs

6. Dress Me Like A Clown

7. On A Freezing Chicago Street

8. Paper Kitten Nightmare

9. Barfight Revolution, Power Violence

10. A Light On A Hill

11. Talking In Code

12. Bookworm

Editorial Reviews

"Move over Broken Social Scene and Arcade Fire - Margot & The Nuclear So & So's are stepping up. This Indianapolis band's expansive sound is as broad and accomplished as the aforementioned Canadian collectives, but they're more focused and their songs display a fluency in genres beyond indie-pop...brims with tight, inventive vision rather than rehashing its tricks again and again." - SPLENDID

Richard Edwards cements his reputation as a fast-rising singer-songwriter on this debut from Margot & the Nuclear So & So's. Just as there's never been an actual Marshall Tucker or Pink Floyd, there's no Margot in this group's lineup. Edwards borrowed the name from 2001's The Royal Tenenbaums, and his fascination with Wes Anderson's work should not be a mystery as both artists specialize in wry, bittersweet stories. When accompanied by nothing more than an acoustic guitar, his songs are strong enough to break hearts and shake convictions. But when his Margot bandmates add cello, trumpet, banjo and synthesizer in all the right places, the group makes music to please fans of folk, chamber pop and modern rock, working in the heady neighborhood of Elvis Costello and Paul Westerberg. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Twists and turns like a Skeleton Key, December 11, 2006

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dust of Retreat (Exco) (Audio CD)

Witches, vampires and "glass eyed pets" inhabit Margot and the Nuclear So-and-So's' debut album, "The Dust of Retreat."

But despite all the otherworldly stuff in it, this is an album about bruised, abused love affairs, wrapped up in multilayered indie-rock. And the Indiana band has a unique, shimmering brand of music that sounds like the Decemberists locked inside a haunted house.

It opens with the haunting, otherworldly strains of "A Sea Chanty of Sorts," a mournful ballad that launches out into sweeping solos at times. "And if you love well that should be enough/instead it turns your joy into sorrow," Richard Edwards murmurs. "My women lied/she was a witch in disguise... when we kissed/it didn't feel poisonous..."

He follows it up with the bittersweet "Skeleton Key" ("I did a sick, sick thing to my love/My lack of loyalty, it swallowed her up"), bouncy chamberpop about vampires, blasts of electro-riddled indie-rock, folky pop about vampires and the emptiness of fame, and languid indiepop with a poignant edge.

When a band is named after a Wes Anderson character (Margot from "The Royal Tenenbaums"), you know it's worth a second (maybe a third) listen. And this is the sort of music that you'd expect to find in such a movie -- poignantly introspective, and a tad whimsical. In a good way.

Guitar melodies swirl around the music, interspersed by haunting, voicelike shimmer of synth, and the dusky sweeps of cello strings, all wrapped up in a mellow Rhodes passage. There's the occasional jazzy trumpet, folky banjo, tambourine, and piano melody too. None of the songs are actually bad -- but the ghostly chamberpop is what works the best.

But no matter how perky the pop, it always sounds kind of sad -- the songs are full of lovers who left, drugs, sleeping alone in lonely houses, and wild parties full of loneliness. With his mellifluous voice, Richard Edwards always sounds like a guy who is watching it all slip away: "Just cover your neck/Cause life is full of your regrets/And I should be one."

"The Dust of Retreat" is a wonderful debut for this band, growing more intriguing and alluring as you listen to it. Excellent music, heralding great things to come.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible album with honest songwriting and beautiful arrangements, March 28, 2006

By 

Andrew Malott (Muncie, IN) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dust of Retreat (Exco) (Audio CD)

Margot and the Nuclear So and So's deftly combine sounds of folky acoustic guitar, driving electric guitar, smooth cello, and catchy piano to create a wonderfully unique sound. Singer/songwriter Richard Edwards, formerly of the band Archer Avenue, continues his trend of unbeatable vocal melodies paired with poignant lyrics. While Archer Avenue's album I Was an Astronaut will break your heart if it's not already broken, Margot's Dust will make you realize that there are more beautiful things in life to be concerned with than love. Themes like the bitterness of life and loss of childhood innocence are prominent throughout, but instead of drowning in minor keys and drop-tuned guitars, Richard leans toward the more subdued, introspective end of the spectrum. Rather than wallow in the sadness, he finds beauty in the grays and browns of urban life.

Excerpt from review of original Standard Recordings release (May 5, 2005) from Rockmusicreview.com (Jack Shepler, editor-in-chief)

Full review of Artemis Records re-release (March 28, 2006) to be posted later.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful., December 11, 2006

By 

M. Tacker "picky consumer" (Muncie, IN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dust of Retreat (Exco) (Audio CD)

This has, in the nearly 2 years since its original release, become one of my top albums of all time. The songs are beautiful with melodies so well written that you instantly feel like you know them. Richard's songwriting is brilliant - sweet, sometimes sad, and emotional without being cheesy. The instrumentation is beautifully crafted and well thought out.

Highly recommended.