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Norwegian singer/songwriter Annie (Anne Lilia Berge Strand) makes her full-length debut with what must surely be the year's sunniest album. Not since the days of
The Tom Tom Club,
Bananarama, and "Lucky Star"-era Madonna, has dance-pop been this fun, this bouncy, this unabashedly optimistic (1999 single "Greatest Hit" even samples the latter's "Everybody"). So don't say you haven't been warned:
Anniemal is a pretension-free zone. With its "Oh no, oh no / You've got it all wrong / You think you're chocolate / But you're chewing gum" refrain, 2004's insanely addictive single "Chewing Gum" is the jewel in this sparkling crown. The R2D2-like bloops and bleeps and Annie's sweet "ah-ah-ahs" and "la-la-las" just make it shine all the brighter. Hippie-disco extravaganza "Come Together," which tops the seven-minute mark, is another standout, while the sentimental "My Best Friend" is, arguably, the only clunker on one of 2005's most notable releases.
--Kathleen C. Fennessy
Product Description
Annie's Norwegian blend of spiky pop and electro has quickly made her one of the most hotly tipped new artists across the globe. Already embraced as a musical force to be reckoned with, she is being championed be the likes of Mylo, DFA, LCD Soundsystem, Rob Da Bank and Scissor Sisters.