The Annuals' Identity Crisis Results in Sunfold
NEW RELEASE:
On Store Shelves Now
On Store Shelves Now
ANNUALS or is it SUNFOLD or both?
Annuals released the Wet Zoo EP album earlier this month. Absentmindedly, I popped it into my CD player and listened. Despite only sporting five tracks, the record still found a way to sound disjointed. The final pair of songs on the album were considerably different from the first three. I did a little research (which amongst other things, involved me actually reading the CD literature and going the extra step to reading the press release which accompanied it in the mail.) Wet Zoo is five songs new songs, but only three are from the Annuals. The last two are Sunfold - the reconstituted Annuals (same players, different roles.)
Whereas Annuals is led by Singer-Songwriter Adam Baker, The side project Sunfold (formerly known as Sedona) is led by Annuals guitarist Kenny Florence. In Sunfold, Florence plays the role of singer-songwriter and he does a fantastic job. What you get is an identity crisis that only the band themselves can iron out.
Whereas Annuals is led by Singer-Songwriter Adam Baker, The side project Sunfold (formerly known as Sedona) is led by Annuals guitarist Kenny Florence. In Sunfold, Florence plays the role of singer-songwriter and he does a fantastic job. What you get is an identity crisis that only the band themselves can iron out.
The Wet Zoo EP
If you open the EP up you get the image of a squid fighting a whale
Like the two factions on the CD, there is an identity issue. Which side wins?
If you open the EP up you get the image of a squid fighting a whale
Like the two factions on the CD, there is an identity issue. Which side wins?
FROM THE BAND THEMSELVES: Many people have asked why (Annuals and Sunfold) should be two instead of just one band with two songwriters. However, after hearing the gigantic difference in musical aesthetic between the two, the reason becomes apparent. While sharing many of the same influences and ultimately the same vision of creating captivating, original music, Adam Baker (Annuals frontman) and Kenny Florence have chosen different paths to the apex. For the past 3 or 4 years, Florence and Baker have focused on broadening their scope of musical understanding by taking interest in many styles of music from all differrent time periods. For Kenny, the main areas of inspiration have been jazz, traditional country, classical music (particulary from 19th and 20th centuries), 70s prog-rock, and Indian music. The purpose of Sunfold is to rediscover the sense of uninhibited exploration of melody and harmony that is always present in the pioneering of a genre and mold it into a sound that is reflective of past and present musical paradigms, without getting stuck in any particular formula.
There are only five tracks on Wet Zoo. I will only share one track with you (personal policy) but I can steer you to where you can get "Sore" the Annuals new release from the album. In the meantime, I really want to share some Sunfold. In my mind Florence's work here is the best on the album. Baker, who relinquished vocals, ends up playing some pretty kick ass drums. Please go out and pick this one up and let me know what you think...
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