So Margot & The Nuclear So And So’s (henceforth known as MATNSAS’s for the purposes of this review) are a little hard to peg musically. Using the most generic genre title possible, I suppose you could put them in the “indie rock” category, maybe with a little hipster twinge to make the skinny jeans contingent happy. But dig a little deeper and there are elements of fuzzed out alternative rock, some pop touches here and some folkier ingredients there. It makes for an interesting mix for sure. Bands like Copeland and The Shins (and maybe even Pinkerton-era Weezer) come to mind as possible “RIYL” matches, but even those comparisons fall short.

In other words, MATNSAS’s have a pretty unique sound, one that seems immediately familiar and yet somehow has surprises bleeding out around the edges on almost every track. Lyrically they’re all over the place, from an ode to a “Tiny Vampire Robot” to a song about the attractive nature of “Your Lower Back.” This latter example starts out with a PSA/documentary-type sound clip about the nature of sex and how it can make us risk everything and drive us to the brink of madness. Cue the crunchy guitars, a pseudo-scream and some insight about the awkwardness of gettin’ it on.

At root, this is a rather eccentric album. It’s musically, lyrically, and topically diverse with a lot to reveal on each listen. These guys seem to be wearing their hearts and brains on their sleeves, which makes for some compelling art. This is pretty solid on the whole and definitely worth checking out.