Everyone Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?: Best Of 2006 (II)

These are relatively new bands but have caught my ear just cos they are masters of infectious melodies and killer hooks. Margot and The Nuclear So and So's are a massive 8 (I think it's 9 now) member band orchestrating cellos and violins and trumpets with guitars and drums, producing lush heavenly music. While tracks like Skeleton key and Quiet as a Mouse immediately stand out as the better tracks, there is still some unevenness in The Dust Of Retreat. It's almost as if they can't decide if they should rock out or be all quiet and folksy. The random, wtf band name aside, they are a band worth checking out.

If you like girl-boy back-and-forth vocals with an edge, you'd dig Headlights. Coming at you from behind a wall of synthesised keyboards and guitars, there is enough fuzz in Kill Them With Kindness to balance out Erin Fein's sweet voice so that it never gets too saccharine. Everything about Headlights is balance; you get insanely catchy melodies with depressing words, really, that manage to walk the fine line between shoegazing melancholy and cheerful sing-a-longs. The album too is full of ups-and-downs, like MNSS, but the tracks that stand out ("TV," "Put us back together right") make you reach for the repeat button right after they end.

Margot And The Nuclear So And Sos - Skeleton Key (Buy The Dust Of Retreat)
Headlights - TV (Buy Kill Them With Kindness)