Animal or Not Animal ?

Album: Animal/Not Animal
Label: Merge Records
Release Date: December 17, 2008
Stars: 4.5
Skippable Tracks: Zero (Animal) One (Not Animal)

Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s may have not picked the best name for their band, but they sure know how to pick tracks for their albums. The band and the record label could not come to an agreement on which tracks to release on the upcoming album; so two versions were released. The band’s arrangement was released under the name Animal, and Merge Records’ arrangement was given the name Not Animal. I was completely oblivious to this when I first heard about the release of the new album, and ended up listening to Not Animal first. The albums are almost 50% different from each other and are quite a bit of a different experience. Animal is pretty mellow from track one through twelve, while Not Animal takes you through a rockier route. The label’s arrangement would have scored a 3.5, but this album receives a whole star more.
So how can you tell if you have purchased Animal or Not Animal? That’s easy! If you see an Animal on the cover…you’ve got Animal. No animal? Then…yeah, you get the idea.
If you like Arcade Fire, this would be a nice addition to your collection. Although I would put their sound more on the mellow side of the scale. I’m including a link to a track as usual.