Annabel

Having It All

Written by: TL on 02/08/2015 20:15:51

Having reviewed Ohio emo/indie group Annabel a few times live, the band has each time seemed a bit messy and reserved, sort of like they don't really expect the audience to get them and hence just sort of plough through shows to get them over with. On record, however, they have been otherwise promising, with 2012's "Youth In Youth" delivering some surprisingly long-lived hooks, both melodically and lyrically. This year they are back with "Having It All", an album that at first glance has not moved them too far stylistically. Twinkly, noodling emo remains the name of the game, as prescribed by the underground trend that's been coursing through the midwestern American underground for some years now, with similar groups like Everyone Everywhere and By Surprise coming to mind as apt comparisons.

What is easiest to tell the band apart by is their vocals, which are sung with a sharp quiet/loud dynamic, with ordinarily sung, drawn out lines often being repeated in more forceful semi-shouted fashion. There's a certain sense of detachment that characterises the singing style, as the vocal melodies tend to follow the instrumental progressions closely, with the movements of the music thus steering the rhythm and power levels more so than the meanings of what's being sung about. And that exactly seems intentional, as Annabel thus flatly recounts the mannerisms of existence, giving off the vibe of having grown sort of numb with things from having reflected about them back and forth in many circles, to the point where life feels a bit meaningless. "What's the point?" seems to be a question that floats around at least, with "Having It All" seemingly not necessarily deemed a satisfying answer - not that you get the feeling there's an answer to be found beyond, as they sing in "Everything": "Not everything has a meaning".

Given some time, this whole sound isn't without its charm, particularly not because Annabel - while less obvious about it than last time around - still manage to produce some soft yet stubbornly persistent hook melodies in songs like "The Fortunate Ones", "Another Day, Another Vitamin" and the title track. Given enough time, however, it also soon feels like the band is content with keeping their style quite narrowly defined, so while you can commend them for keeping individual song structures lively and energetic, listening to them grows a bit samey over the course of the whole album. Particularly the songs where the lyrical diction is more frequently blurred by the instruments are likely to lose grasp of the listener's attention.

Overall "Having It All" is the kind of record where it's hard to say just how much you like it. It's sound is easily enjoyable and can make you hum along even if you're not paying attention, and if you do concentrate, you can also follow the lyrics and relate to their feelings of dissatisfaction with the expectations of modern society. But whether the songs have strong enough identities for you to really take them to heart, look forward to singing them live, and play them again for years to come - the album doesn't quite manage to be convincing of that.

Download: The Fortunate Ones; Another Day, Another Vitamin; Having It All
For The Fans Of: Everyone Everywhere; Joie De Vivre; Into It, Over It
Listen: facebook.com/annabelband

Release date 09.06.2015
Tiny Engines

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