Ok guys, thanks to the promo folks and Ace Fu Records, I have a copy of Annuals' debut cd, "Be He Me" to give away - skip to the bottom for more details on how to enter the contest. First, my thoughts on the album!
"Be He Me" is an ambitious, sprawling record. Difficult to imagine that Adam Baker is only 20 years old - there must be some pretty resentful older rockers out there. The range of emotions expressed on this album is incredible. If 30 is the new 20, then how old is he really? Sounds like he's already been through his midlife crisis and then some.
"Brother", the song that most strongly channels the Arcade Fire, starts off the cd with a cathartic bang. "Dry Clothes" follows the High Fidelity rule of escalating, but not surging too early. "Bleary Eyed" sits firmly in the Shins-meets-Broken-Social-Scene camp. Think that's it? Delving further into the album reveals a wide variety of other influences drifting in and out of consciousness, be it the chanting and quasi-tribal polyrhythms of Animal Collective to the rich vocal harmonies of the Beach Boys (Brian Wilson era, of course). A sad early Tom Waits saloon/lounge piano even wanders in on the second to last track, "Father".
In short, this will probably be on the Let's Sexy Fighting year end list and you should pick it up today on iTunes or your local indie-friendly record store. Also, Annuals needs to swing up for a SF date on their current tour...
Contest Details: Write me an indie-rock related haiku (5 7 5) in the comments and leave me some way to contact you. I'll select the one I like the best on Thursday, 8am, PST and contact the winner.
Annuals - Brother
Annuals - Dry Clothes
Annuals Official Site
Annuals on MySpace
Labels: ANNUALS, CONTEST, INDIE POP, INDIE ROCK
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