Margot and the Nuclear So & So's

When a band with a silly and pretentious name emerges from Indianapolis and starts to take over MySpace, the industry drools. But the post-MySpace world hasn't been easy on Margot & the Nuclear So and So's, a big indie-rock band with dueling percussionists and a debt to pre-arena-rock Arcade Fire. The band's first album, The Dust of Retreat, was a lovely suite of songs about sadism and freezing Midwestern streets, delivered by a young, darkly charismatic singer named Richard Edwards. Edwards and company quickly learned that a player like Epic Records wouldn't stand for niceties such as artistic control, and after the confusing release of two different versions of its major-label debut (Animal and Not Animal), the band regrouped for last year's Buzzard, a step forward — but to where is anyone's guess.