Animal!/Not Animal

In a rare case of compromise between a commercially unproved band and a major label, the new Margot and the Nuclear So & Sos album will be released in two versions, one following the band’s suggested track listing, and the other hewing to the label’s vision. Epic Records announced Monday that it will release Animal! on vinyl Oct. 8. On the same day, the band will release a second album on CD and digital media called Not Animal.

The label and the band couldn’t agree on which of the 17 songs recorded in Chicago this spring should be included on Animal! And when the track listing swelled to over 20 tracks, the label was unwilling to release the album the band envisioned. The compromise releases, Animal! and Not Animal, each contain 12 tracks, with five tracks shared between the two releases.

Margot guitarist Andy Fry said he was pleased with the decision. “We had a group of songs that we felt like needed to be together,” Fry said. “It’s not like we recorded songs we didn’t like … We just wanted to make an album. I’m actually really excited about the songs that are on each album.”

While the full-length has been pushed back, the band won’t leave fans empty-handed, releasing an EP July 29 (Animal! was to be released on that same date). The Daytrotter EP will feature five songs recorded during their daytrotter.com sessions: four new songs and Dust of Retreat cut “Bookworm.” Daytrotter.com has recorded over 300 bands in their Rock Island, Ill., studios in the past three years. The site will offer two exclusive downloads the same day.

Kentucky Nightmare signed

Bloomington-based quartet Kentucky Nightmare has signed a two-record deal with local independent Standard Recording Company, starting with a fall 2008 re-release of Take Her Favour, originally self-released early this year. Named after a line from an episode of absurdist cartoon talk show Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Kentucky Nightmare has been around in one incarnation or another since summer 2003. Several tracks from Favour are on their Myspace — myspace.com/kentuckynightmare — including the excellent, loping “Caroline and I” (likely the single accompanying the re-release).

WITT opening cancelled

The June 21 grand opening event to unveil a new studio and community space for WITT radio has been cancelled. No reschedule date has been announced, and the WITT spokesperson hasn’t yet offered any further details.