Annie
Sci-Fi Canon Blue(s)
Reviewed by Val Sutton
It's hard not to think of that annoying "Tomorrow" song when you hear the name "Annie," but the futuristic rock on the debut album from a band called Annie replaced all my memories of oversung showtunes. Balancing an overall Radiohead feel with Beatlesque melodies and a distinctive lounge lizard style, Annie is soon to become a band you won't want to get out of your head - much less take out of your CD player. Annie's poetically vague lyrics flowingly take a backseat to each song's overall effect (which may explain why the lyrics aren't in the song order on the back of the album's cardboard case). And what are these effects? Buzzing guitars, plinking keys, golden-toned horns and laid-back, Thom Yorke-ish "shoegazer" vocals fill the album, but the simplicity of the fivesome's potent songwriting talent is as bright as their harmonies are sharp. Though Annie is certainly a departure for Bulletproof Records, label home to Dear Ephesus and Squad 5-0, they may prove to be the forefront of originality for the modern rock label, if not all modern rock. Annie's sci-fi canon blue(s) is one album you should get today - or, at the latest, tomorrow.