Annabel

Beginning with the wonderfully charming EP, Now That We’re Alive, and continuing with the acclaimed 2009 full-length, Each And Everyone, the past three years have found Annabel carving out an exceptionally noteworthy existence for itself within the underground scene. Cranking out richly textured indie-pop tunes, skewed by punk’s rough-around-the-edges urgency and tightened by the DIY community within which the band operates, the Kent, OH quartet has been winning over fans, peers and critics alike with heartfelt songs that are straightforward and immediate enough to be considered catchy yet complex and nuanced enough to warrant careful repeat listens.

Continuing that trend, but ratcheting up the the immediacy quotient tenfold and tapping into an even more aggressive punk spirit, Annabel’s newest five-song offering provides a seemingly endless supply of exclamation point moments. While it’s unclear where where time will rank Here We Are Tomorrow amongst the band’s catalog, it unquestionably establishes itself as the juncture when we stopped putting Annabel into the “consistently great” category and promoted it to the “frequently amazing” subset.