Such Fun

The eclectic debut of North Carolina’s indie-poppers Annuals, Be He Me, was a wild and multi-tentacled creation. Such Fun, the band’s follow-up, continues exploring a wide range of musical textures, but this time Annuals’ frontman and co-producer Adam Baker edits the whole affair to a more consistent and self-assured end.  “Hot Night Hounds” has an almost symphonic guitar structure in the first half, chords flittering like violin parts, while the second half showcases a little prog-rock sleight of hand. There are affectionate nods to countrified stylings on the rollicking “Dawn the Mountain,” replete with an urgent, giddy-up energy and lacy finger-picking, and on “Always Do” and “Blue Ridge,” where violins and steel guitar take the two-step down to a slow dance. The band’s fondness for chamber pop is exemplified on the string heavy “Wake” and the gorgeous “Springtime,” which starts as a sweet, idyllic soundtrack to budding love, but ends in a shimmering, joyful crescendo. Annuals still seem reluctant to follow a single path, and that alone can keep fans interested for the long haul.