Album from American band.
Annuals album 'Be He Me' is something of an ambitious effort featuring 15 songs and covering a variety of styles. Opener 'Brother' echoes shoe gazing bands like My Bloody Valentine with the slightly muffled vocals placed under layers of sound, before taking an exuberant turn that leads the song to sound very reminiscent of the Arcade Fire.
'Dry Clothes' is more upbeat and catchy and changes towards the end into a slower piano driven song, suggesting the band enjoy playing around with tempo and sound within their songs. This gives many of the songs here an epic quality despite a generally short running time.
'Carry Around' sees another style change and comparisons can be drawn to Bright Eyes in their electronic phase. The song seems lighthearted and has an improvised feel to its development. 'Chase You Off' has a luxuriant pace and the vocals here remind me of Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard with more of an attitude. The lyrics, although hard to discern are delivered with a power that suggests emotive content. As the song progresses it edges into more of a heavier rock sound, again serving as an example of this albums diversity.
'Bleary-Eyed' is a brighter, more upbeat song, infused with a catchy tune that carries it effortlessly. 'Fair' earns Annuals another Bright Eyes comparison; with vocals and a slightly cacophonic gaggle of instruments sounding like Conor Oberst might if he tinkered around with a box of instruments.
'Be He Me' works its charm subtlety, and on a first listen didn't amount to much. However on a return visit all of its nuances began to unfold and I became aware of how much it had to offer. With a 60 minute running time this album probably isn't one to reach for if you crave immediacy and compact tunes, but for those striving for more than just an album of hazily similar songs then Annuals will work wonders for you.