Play it by Ear - Annuals scream to life at the Record Bar

Last Monday night, Annuals took over the Record Bar with their wild, mixed-up indie-pop sound.

Before the show, bassist Mike Robinson said one of the band's strong points was genre-hopping, and they proved his statement true during the ensuing show.

Their second song of the night, "Confessor," perfectly demonstrated his point. The slower, slide-guitar song mixed uniquely with singer/guitarist Adam Baker's screamo yowl, which is one of the only elements of Annuals' sound that stays the course.

Throughout the show, Baker revved the crowd up by beating on a single drum with a flashing blue light and keyboardist Anna Spence dramatically tackled her keys.

Spence's presence is one of the definite highlights of the band. Her playing is incredibly mysterious and adds an element of Broken Social Scene (BSS) jams to their sound.

Annuals echoed BSS's baroque pop sound on "Hardwood Floor," with two drum kits laying down complex, interesting beats combined with guitarist Kenny Florence's airy, delayed guitar riffs.

"Chase You Off" was another unique point in the evening, and a song worth checking out with circus-esque bass and drum lines throughout.

Toward the end of their set, the band got the crowd to engage and clap along to a song, and Baker kindly played the encore set without forcing them to scream for more Annuals.

"We usually do the encore ending here," he said before they dove into "Hair Don't Grow," the final song of the night.

"I think people can see that we really love to play," Robinson said. "We're trying really hard to make inventive music that people haven't heard before, and I think people appreciate that."

No matter what your taste, Annuals are worth a listen.

Those with a strong distaste for screamo voices probably won't enjoy the band as a whole, but no matter your taste, there's certainly something to enjoy from Annuals.

cupchurch@unews.com