Review Summary: Annuals' 8 track Internet only B-side EP sounds like what it is.
One can hardly hope to find much of quality when listening to an internet only B-sides EP, even when the B-sides come from an album like
Be He Me , where much of quality can indeed be found. If the songs are good, why delegate them to B-sides in the first place? It isn’t as though Be He Me didn’t have sub par tracks to begin with. But if, somehow, your EP of B-sides is really great, why make it an internet only release? Sure, most (maybe all) of Annuals’ Pitchfork reading fan base are probably internet savvy enough to find the EP, but the fact remains that an EP of B-sides that is released under limiting conditions cannot possibly be up to par with the band’s previous work.
And there isn’t much mistaking said internet only B-side EP, entitled
Frelen Mas , for a ‘proper’ release. Its songs take on different feels instead of flowing together; Be He Me’s Broken Social Scene meets Animal Collective meets Arcade Fire feel is left in the dust for the most part. In its place are a host of different styles: disjointed electronica on
Such a Mess , not entirely organic folk (a genre who’s influence was not at all absent from Be He Me) on
Ease My Mind , barroom stomp on
River Run etc.
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot particularly reeks of being a non-album track, being a relatively faithful (barring the electronic breakdown towards the end) cover of a traditional African-American spiritual song and all. All however, the latter included, are, surprisingly or not, rather good songs.
Half of
Sewn to Kites is little more than singer Adam Baker and an acoustic guitar. His lyrics are full of childhood nostalgia, topics include kites, fishing lines and hanging out with Bigfoot but the song is unsettling, especially its end, when the other five members of Annuals lurch out of hiding to create a dense, dark orchestra of strings and percussion to compliment Baker’s strained vocals. On
Nah Keseyl Baker’s vocals are simple, most of them feature the singer repeating the song’s title, and recall Sigur Ros’ Jonsi Birgisson, despite his band mates’ use of blaring brass and sharp snare drum hits.
Frelen Mas, though not a release I could honestly recommend to anyone who hasn’t heard/enjoyed Be He Me, is a fine companion EP, in the end. The songs are of a general lesser quality and don’t flow nearly as well, but this is to be expected. Annuals ought to be releasing a new album in the coming year, so big Annuals fans (of which I am not sure of the quantity) can use this to tide them over or something. For everyone else, Be He Me was a great Indie-Pop record, listen to that instead.
-Dan
