The Annuals have been stringing us along with some salivating EPs while we wait for the full length follow up to one of the best albums of 2006, Be He Me. And what a shockingly good debut it was from the often frenetic, often multi-influenced North Carolina collective. On “Dry Dlothes,” Adam Baker and crew proclaim “I only feel like I’m living when I feel like I’m dying.” It’s a good credo for a band with fly-by-the-seat, spacy electronics often backing otherwise down to earth, family friendly titled tracks. They’re also a band known for their energetic live shows, which is particularly evident after hearing “Ida, My” from their first session with us. What starts out as a pensive “When my baby is born there will surely be a lasting chore” evolves into a crescendo of battering percussion and thrashing guitar. After the Be He Me companion disc Frelen Mas, the Annuals came back with the Wet Zoo split with the sister band Sunfold featuring two relatives that compliment each other well. Annuals have shown a progression towards a use of more strings layered onto their sound. The lead-off track “Sore” is a love song with gently plucked guitar and swooning strings that builds to an eclectic mix of electronic break beat and the heightened emotion of layered strings before it all crashes down. Believe the opening track alone is worth the price of admission. Following are the running bluegrass of “Around Your Neck” and the percussionless beauty of “Just Stay In” before Sunfold take over with their own tasty two songs. These EPs, along with the session they imparted to us, are like delicious breadcrumbs along the trail to their next full-length, but there’s no hurry when the scenery on these stops is so breathtaking.

Annuals Daytrotter session
Annuals Official Site
Ace Fu Records