I think it’s important to establish where a band comes from – It is the place they were born that shapes the outcome of a record and I don’t mean something like a young Robert Zimmerman leaving the dusty roads of Minnesota to find fame on the hard avenues of New York City. I’m talking something more genuine, like a couple of guys from Kent, Ohio (on the northeastern side of the state) who, unlike other small-town brethren before them, just sat tight and started making music to their own fancy – fuck the stardust a days drive away and just get down to business.

There is something honest and pure about Annabel that comes across as plain as day when you give the EP a listen – it’s fresh and their blend of indie-pop peppered with xylophones and scurrying rat-a-tats from a snare drum make this Anytown, USA group of dudes instantly loveable. I feel like hugging them if they ever play a show in my town.

That’s not to take away from their ability to craft almost perfect pop-songs, they sure are capable of that and the grain of the recording adds to their honesty in an intangible way. As if to say “This is what we have, love it or leave it” while making no excuses that yes, we do things our way, and yes, music transcends all.

The disc is packaged by hand that looks similar to a flannel shirt pocket for fucks sake – how is that not amazing?

We know you’re alive Annabel, we hear you, loud and clear.