Endorsement: Annuals 'Be He Me'

Don'tcha just love indie-rock. No, not that hyphinated catch all that in some circles includes everything from Rilo Kiley to Animal Collective. I mean indie-rock. Missionary position indie-rock. The kind that has that certain melodic sense, a certain sort of guitar tone. A certain kind of series of almost undefinable things that make something "indie-rock."

Annuals are an "indie-rock" band proper. Culling jittery synth moves of a (let's say) Dismemberment Plan, combined with a fragmented wistful melodic sense remanisant of (how about) Broken Social Scene, the agravated guitar jolts of (maybe)Built To Spill, with occasionally Pixies(had to happen, didn't it?)esque yelping behind it's more melodic vocal lines. That kind of "indie-rock."

However, this has all been pretty reductive thus far. What makes the Annuals so loveable is the ability to take all of these reference points and make them seamless, timeless, fresh, and undeniably distinct. It all seems impossible and yet it's the thing that keeps people like me (like you?) coming back to these sorts of bands over and over again.

Be He Me is one of the sharpest straight indie albums this year and people are begining to agree. Stylus made them recomended and Pitchfork has them on their Infinite Mixtape, still I worry that sanz-Best New Music placement or some always valued OC play an album like this can get lost in the release avalanche. So check them out on My Space. And perhaps check them out at Other Music where they will be playing for free this Friday at noon.