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Annuals
I find the ambition of a young band like Annuals striking in a way stands out from other ramshackle collectives that are popping up all over the place. Sure, they're got all their ducks in a row if you are going down the "what's hot in large member bands right now" checklist but, unlike a lot of other bands, they have certain intangibles you can't buy off the shelf, namely, chemistry and drama. They're kind of like the brash, American little brother of Broken Social Scene (no one in the band is over the age of twenty-two), but an ADD younger sibling that's more interested in creating fragmented, shattered orchestral pieces with infectious enthusiasm and gutso. Annuals also desire to prove themselves experts at carefully-constructed-to-seem-spontaneous, layered glittering pop masterpieces.
Live, the band rely on the boyish charisma of Adam Baker and the sexy allure of keyboardist Anna Pence, who has been slowly filtering into every indie rock boy's wet-dreams since last fall. Their music is a glowing pop pastiche with gooey hooks, whacked out keyboards and strings, with chants and guitars and space age effects running in all directions to form a kaleidescope of bright colors and sounds. The careful orchestration found their studio work is only barely bypassed by a shimmering wall of sound and company shout-alongs, sure to instill a need to rock-out in any show-watcher.
The result feels both tightly wound and loose at the same time: you get the feeling that the band could fall apart at any moment, or implode, but then the song clicks, there's an upward gust of wind, and Annuals catapults into the heavens. If they land in the clouds, it's only because they were shooting for the stars, right?
Annuals - Brother
Annuals - Carry Around
Annuals' official site. Buy Be He Me from Amazon or iTunes.
Posted by Queen of the Front Row at 02.24.07 at 12:05 PM
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