Yours truly, like most other people, had never heard of the London-based quintet Margot, until I heard “Desensitised” played on the rather wonderful podcast Near Perfect Pitch (a weekly podcast featuring the best in Indie, Alternative and BritPop, and Shoegaze), and a friend of mine went nuts!
The friend was right, of course, “Desensitised” is a great song and holds a potential of more promising material from Margot in the near future. The song harbours every musical influence that this blog stands for, at once! The track opens with a looping c86-style jangle-chime, then daintily falls into soft dream-pop chords that ooze the fragile sophistipop sensibilities of Prefab Sprout and Destroyer. “Desensitised” oscillates to and fro like aural waves aided by meandering bass-lines, and spirals neatly back in to place at the right time. The cherry on top of this delectable blend is the distinctive crooning voice of Alex Hannaway, that rivals easily with some of the best voices in indie history.
According to Alex, Margot bring routine realism to life: “Desensitised is about the commute to office blocks, and how its oppressive nature, from the geography to the lonely crowds, can infiltrate, misdirect and dowse appetite and ambition. Writing the song was cathartic, an act of strength and perseverance, a determination not to become desensitised.”
Alex Hannaway is joined by Ben Andrewes (drums), Albi Cleghorn (guitar), Rob Fenner (Guitar) and Michael Webb (bass).
Keep your eyes on Margot!
