Here's a name you won't want to forget: Annuals. Not 'The' Annuals, mind you, just Annuals.

Their debut album Be He Me, was released in October of 2006, but is just now starting to garner some attention in the music scene. Their single, "Brother," - one part backyard-sing-along and one part maniacal fall down the rabbit hole - is on regular rotation on mtvU and they made their national television debut a couple weeks back on the Conan O'Brien show.

The real success of this album comes not just from the band's song structures and their usage of an unorthodox band line-up, but from singer/songwriter Adam Baker's poignant and poetic lyrics. Be He Me seems to be Baker's journey into finding a meaning for life whether it is autobiographical or merely fictional. Either way, it works and it's a beautiful story.

It opens with the aforementioned "Brother" which is an amazing opener for this album. The acoustic guitar coupled with crickets in the back of the mix give the listener a beautiful sense of tranquility. Even before Baker says a word, we like where we are in this song and we'll follow him wherever he wants to take us. Even if this nice song about innocence turns into a deafening march anthem packed with heavy distorted guitars midway through, we're still glad to be there.

Once this song is over, it starts to go a bit downhill. "Dry Clothes" sounds like a folk song that's been hanging out with Hail to the Thief too much. It's rather bland and it's quite anti-climatic considering the metaphorical roller coaster ride we just went on with "Brother."

However, they quickly return to that momentum present in "Brother" with "Complete or Completing" and "Carry Around."

"Complete..." sounds like a song off of Pet Sounds if Brian Wilson took acid and was inspired by Belle and Sebastian. The percussion really stands out and it's simply amazing how Annuals can go from hard rock to an electronic folk type sound. Their eclectic nature really shows up in this song, but it gets much better.

"Carry Around," is quite easily the best song of this album and perfectly displays Baker's impressive songwriting ability and the whole band's talent with their instruments. You can almost feel the paranoia of a drug addicted fiend as Baker confidently sings intricate lyrics about dependency on drugs while a contradicting yet groovy bass line drives the song into a style and era of music that our generation will probably only learn about through textbooks. But Annuals pull it off without the slightest hint of hesitation or difficulty.

While the album's momentum may shift a little again with songs like "Fair," one can't penalize Annuals for this. Their filler is a lot better than most of mainstream alternative rock acts' so called "killer."

Near the end of the album, Baker displays some maturity in "The Bull and the Goat" with lyrics that could very well be a commentary on most of today's whiny acts. He offers us honest lyrics that embrace life's struggles: "Man, don't be so plain. / You know that life's a life with pain. / It keeps you whole. / It keeps you wanting to save your soul." If only Hawthorne Heights could take this advice.

The track, "Father," is a heartbreaking song that touches on the agony of parents having to watch their children die. I can imagine the truest aesthetes weeping for this character, fictional or non. This song is another testament to Baker's songwriting ability and with songs like these, it'll be no time at all before he gets some recognition.

The journey presented in Be He Me culminates with the wonderfully climactic "Sway." Baker muses to us beautifully: "The water's rising. / Life is ending / Have it all. / We'll have it all. / We can." When he sings these words, we want so badly to believe him that we can't help but have a smile on our face as we conclude this album. We've taken a trip into Baker's mind - into his dreams and his nightmares - and it is complemented beautifully by an amazing mix of electronic, folk and rock music. And we can't help but love every second. Grade: A-