Category:
Rock

Try if you like:
Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene

•   Confessor

The Annuals sure have been a buzz band as of late. They released an impressive album in Be He Me and now Such Fun is their proper full-length follow-up. Is it worth the hype? Yes and no. Yeah, I'm playing it safe here but here's why. I appreciated every single pop element in Such Fun. I applaud every wonderful arrangement effort. I should be falling for this album like a teenage crush but I just couldn't wrap myself around it like I should have been able to. And I can't quite figure out why. Did I not give The Annuals the time they deserve for an album of this magnitude? Was it too much like Be He Me? Not at all. In fact, this is the logical progression for a pop band of this calibre. The arrangements are more lush, the songs are so much more refined.

But the love... I found it on the opening track "Confessor", a delightful foray into pop wonderment. Layered vocals and clever arrangements bring this song into the limelight, and the fact that it is under 3 minutes might have something to do with it. "Hot Night Hounds" promised much of the same with even more of a lush instrumentation, much more rock oriented. It's got the Polyphonic Spree kind of bigness. Maybe it's the instrumentation that drags things down slightly. Now "Springtime" might be more where the love starts to wane. 

So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to give Such Fun a mediocre 3 stars. I'm going to spend a few more listens contemplating my future relationship with The Annuals and if I decide that this album is in fact worthy of a greater score then I will come back and change the score and add to my review with the reasons such a change is necessary. I want to like this album but ultimately I feel like my date has walked out on me. Maybe a little less fun next time and a little more business.