Annuals

If "post-rock" is going to endure as a supposed genre, it's going to have to sound at least as interesting as Annuals. The Raleigh, North Carolina, six-piece (not to be confused with Salt Lake City's Band of Annuals) evokes a sense of catharsis on a par with Animal Collective or Broken Social Scene but is generally a lot more hummable. The young group hit the road with Bloc Party and the Flaming Lips to support its debut album, Be He Me, but the sprightly kiddos will headline as they spread word of their second LP, Such Fun. The disc's high-reaching crescendos give Arcade Fire a good jab, but the undercurrent of funky beats places Annuals more in line with post-emo acts like Minus the Bear. Now if only we could make post-Post-it a genre of office organization.