Annuals – Such Fun
Annuals third album proper, Such Fun reminds me of quite a few different bands. Primarily, there seems to be a good helping of the Magic Numbers and a bit of Conor Oberst, or Bright Eyes. However, I don’t necessarily mean this in a wholly complimentary way. Because I do like some of Magic Numbers and Mr Obersts’ stuff but I often dislike it in equal measure when it’s at its drippiest and most wistful. And although Such Fun does live up to it’s name in terms of its upbeat demeanour, with Annuals merrily bouncing their way through, there is an irritating amount of the drippy wistfulness.
There’s a bit of country and western in here too, not always a guarantor of disappointment but if you’re going to do it, do it well, unlike the gently waa-ing guitars of Always Do. The highlight of the album comes from Talking, the one song that sounds least like the rest. For me it provided a welcome break from the generic lyrics and lacklustre feel of the rest of Such Fun.
Track 10, Blue Ridge does seem to have lost the plot completely. It starts with the sound of a child crying and the sympathetic voice of vocalist Adam Baker asking “what’s wrong?” Cue a song that’s wetter than October, and the earlier question “what’s wrong?” could be answered in a vast myriad of ways…
In the words of Vince Noir, the Annuals are “about as edgy as a satsuma”. (He didn’t say that about the Annuals specifically, although I kind of imagine he would). My mum would probably like this album actually, she would say it’s “nice”. Even the names of the songs are dull, Hot Night Hounds being the only one that jumps out at me.
With a name like Such Fun, you would hope that’s an accurate description of what it is like to listen to the album. Unfortunately, Such Mediocrity would have been a title better suited to this effort.
By Mark Williams
