Annuals

The token phrase indie rock doesn’t quite do justice to North Carolina’s Annuals, a six-piece band that stirs up a mighty racket akin to My Morning Jacket or Broken Social Scene. The group’s dramatic compositions utilize multiple percussionists and group-sing vocals to create something similar to Animal Collective but much more tuneful and less self-absorbed. Gigs at Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza signaled the group’s fast-rising profile, which benefited from an onslaught of blog love for last year’s Be He Me LP. Now signed to Ace Fu Records and Virgin UK, the band is touring with the equally ambitious and capricious Manchester Orchestra.