I know this sounds familiar and you've heard a thousand of projects along these lines by now. But bear with me. Following the breakup of melodic hardcore/rock band Linus, Brad Lebakken decided to start writing music on his own. The songs that developed from these writing sessions were acoustic guitar driven indie rock. Lebakken recorded and released these songs under his own name on a self-titled effort. But when it came time to perform the songs live, he knew he needed a band. Members were recruited and thus the solo project became a full-fledged band, thus the name change. So here are the solo recordings of Lebakken under the new moniker, Annasay.
The album starts off with the beautifully written "City Lights." The song is an acoustic guitar driven ballad that is highlighted by the underlying use of keyboards and snyths. I know the sight of the words "acoustic guitar" and "ballad" sets off warnings of whiney emo, but Lebakken's voice is nothing of the sort. His soft tone and variable range convey much emotion ala Jeremy Enigk, not in the played out sad-bastard tone. "Grace" follows and heads in a slightly different direction. It opens with the faint use of drums during the opening sequence as Lebakken softly sings. But once the chorus is reached, the power of the drums cannot be contained, and neither can Lebakken, as the song reaches a rock-ish mid-section. The song concludes with acoustic guitars and echoing synths until there is nothing but the fading out of the guitar. This flows perfectly into "Eight Twenty Four," which is a brief interlude of sorts.
Things really pick up with "Wear it on Your Sleeve," which is much less singer-songwriter and more pop rock. The acoustic is traded in for an electric guitar and a full drum kit is used as well. It's a nice change of pace that gives the album some extra character as opposed to being one-dimensional. Lebakken continues to experiment with his sound on "Plans and Progress." The instrumental track features electro-beats teamed up with simple keyboards; another nice shift in style.
"You Will Be" is return to the sound of the opening track with its acoustic guitar and synths; there is a definite Further Seems Forever influenced here - more so than the other tracks. "The Sound of Doubts Breaking" and "With You" conclude the album in fitting manner: the former is solid pop-infused emo rock while the latter is another splendid vocal-driven ballad - Lebakken's vocals abilities truly shine on the album closer.
These recordings are an excellent start for Lebakken and his fellow Annasay bandmates. However, one thing missing from these recordings is their transition to the live spectrum. Having seen a performance of several of these songs, I must say that for as good as they are recorded, they are much better live with a full lineup. Nevertheless, any fan of passionate vocal-driven indie rock should invest in a copy of this album.
