{"id":9583,"date":"2015-06-02T13:16:31","date_gmt":"2015-06-02T13:16:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-annabel-having-it-all\/"},"modified":"2018-03-21T22:16:13","modified_gmt":"2018-03-21T22:16:13","slug":"album-review-annabel-having-it-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-annabel-having-it-all\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review:\u00a0Annabel –\u00a0Having It All"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"Ohio\u2019s Annabel<\/b> have always had a pretty clear handle on their sound. Achingly majestic and gorgeously layered, they\u2019ve been the epitome of the derided word – and I personally hate it as a term – \u2018twinkle\u2019. <\/figure>\n

Throw in some glorious choruses and stellar melodies, it\u2019s remained something of a surprise to me as to why they haven\u2019t made the jump into the wider consciousness, especially during the \u2018emo revival\u2019. <\/p>\n

Anyway, what\u2019s clear from the off on the group\u2019s Tiny Engines<\/b>’ full-length debut (and first release on the label since 2010\u2019s \u2018Here We Are Tomorrow\u2019<\/i>), is that they\u2019ve never sounded better. In fact, they sound cinematic, and you could easily see \u2018Having It All\u2019<\/i> working as a soundtrack to the latest Noah Baumbach or Duplass brothers\u2019 drama. Importantly, there\u2019s also a punch to \u2018Having It All\u2019<\/i> that was missing from their previous output. It\u2019s a subtle difference, but it just means there\u2019s more oomph throughout. It\u2019s not so concerned with nodding, noodling rhythms and lush arrangements \u2013 although these still feature heavily \u2013 but instead there\u2019s more urgency about how they\u2019ve gone about things. <\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

Take \u2018Another Day, Another Vitamin\u2019<\/i> which switches from a beautiful, orchestral sound to a pulsating and urgent rush before cascading back. It\u2019s gorgeous and rhythmic, but builds to a huge swell. It\u2019s not hugely different to the blueprint which made ‘Youth In Youth’<\/i> such an excellent listen, but the added drive means there\u2019s a much fuller, more exciting sound. <\/p>\n

Likewise \u2018The Fortunate Ones\u2019<\/i> really pushes this newfound confidence. Reminiscent of the rock songs on Jimmy Eat World\u2019s \u2018Clarity\u2019<\/i> rather than the lovely, delicate soundscapes with which the album is known for, it means \u2018Having It All\u2019<\/i> ticks all the boxes when it comes to being a rounded, modern, emo album. <\/p>\n

Throw in a couple of tracks which ease up on the usually full arrangements \u2013 \u2018Days in Between\u2019<\/i> is a slow and haunting change of pace, while \u2018How to: A Self-Help Guide\u2019<\/i> recalls The Get Up Kids after they left emo but found Wilco \u2013 and you have an album which is both breath-taking in its scope and brilliantly realised in its execution. <\/p>\n

Of course, for all of these blurring of the boundaries and tinkering at the edge of their sound, it\u2019s the songs which adhere closest to the Annabel<\/b> blueprint that excite most. \u2018For Years and Years\u2019<\/i> is simply stunning, a mid-paced, fist-in-the-air number which makes you \u201cwant to believe\u201d<\/i>. It\u2019s the sort of song I\u2019d get all gooey at in a live setting and it\u2019s testament to Annabel\u2019s<\/b> skill as songwriters that they can make such a mundane phrase so life-affirming and powerful. \u2018Everything\u2019<\/i>, meanwhile, is somewhat subtler, but takes a sumptuous drum beat and turns a percussive driven indie-pop song into the album\u2019s centrepiece. <\/b><\/p>\n

Lyrically, there\u2019s a conversational tone throughout, meaning without a lyric sheet, it\u2019s difficult to riddle out what they\u2019re going for. \u201cNot everything has a meaning\u201d<\/i> they sing on the aforementioned \u2018Everything\u2019<\/i>, yet you can\u2019t escape the themes of identity, growth and belief which flow through \u2018Having It All\u2019<\/i>. It means there\u2019s depth to the record that\u2019s away from the standard fare and I cannot wait to sit down with the record and bury myself in the lyric sheet. <\/p>\n

It takes a lot to stand out from other bands in the oversaturated emo revival. Annabel<\/b> have always stood apart, but now they clearly stand above many of their peers. Like Foxing or Prawn, they\u2019ve managed to deliver an album packed with feeling and emotion but which also has a distinct identity. Tantalisingly close to being an essential emo revival record, \u2018Having It All\u2019<\/i> is a career highlight for Annabel <\/b>and yet another winner from the ever-dependable Tiny Engines<\/b>. <\/p>\n

4.5\/5<\/p>\n

‘Having It All’<\/i> by Annabel is released on 9th June on Tiny Engines<\/strong>.<\/b><\/p>\n

Annabel<\/strong> links: Facebook<\/a>|Twitter<\/a>|Bandcamp<\/a><\/p>\n

Words by Rob Mair (@BobNightMair<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ohio\u2019s Annabel have always had a pretty clear handle on their sound. Achingly majestic and gorgeously layered, they\u2019ve been the epitome of the derided word – and I personally hate it as a term – \u2018twinkle\u2019. Throw in some glorious choruses and stellar melodies, it\u2019s remained something of a surprise to me as to why […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":14239,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[2657,5617,15022,206],"class_list":["post-9583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-album-reviews","tag-annabel","tag-having-it-all","tag-rob-mair","tag-tiny-engines"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAlbum Review:\u00a0Annabel -\u00a0Having It All - Already Heard Staging<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ohio\u2019s Annabel have always had a pretty clear handle on their sound. 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