Named for Margot Tenenbaum of Wes Anderson's sophisticated The Royal Tenenbaums, eight-piece Indianapolis indie collective Margot & the Nuclear So & So's sets the tender vocals of singer/songwriter/frontman Richard Edwards against acoustic guitar-driven chamber pop. The subdued and melancholy melodies are exquisite, the lyrics introspective and touching upon anything from the loss of childhood innocence to the sometimes poisonous taste of love. They've been compared to Broken Social Scene (Margot is more gentle), Arcade Fire (Margot is less gloom and doom) and to the Decemberists (Margot is less cheesy), though their music will probably appeal to fans of all of the aforementioned outfits. Margot & the Nuclear So & So's are currently touring in support of their July release, The Daytrotter Sessions EP. They play a show at Crowbar this Sunday evening with another lady-name band, energetic indie-rock outfit Audrye Sessions of Oakland, Calif. Sun., Aug. 17, 9 p.m., 1812 N. 17th St., Ybor City, $8 in advance/$10 at the door, 813-241-8600, myspace.com/margotandthenuclearsoandsos.
This article appears in Aug 6-12, 2008.