Artist:The Courteeners
Release:ANNA
Released: 2013
Label: V2
Catalog#: VVR724849 
Format: FLAC / Lossless / Log (100%) / Cue
Country: UK
Style:rock

01. Are You In Love With a Notion?
02. Lose Control
03. Van Der Graaff
04. Push Yourself
05. When You Want Something You Can't Have
06. Welcome to the Rave
07. Save Rosemary In Time
08. Sharks Are Circling
09. Marquee
10. Money
11. Here Come the Young Men

With their songs about rowdy nights out and morning after recriminations, The Courteeners have always seemed more comfortable and successful as a live band. Their two album releases so far, 2008's 'St. Jude' and 2010's 'Falcon', have been used mostly as live fodder – justifying more lucrative big shows (which have tended to be ‘homecoming’ shows in Manchester). But seeing as playing live is the only way bands can make money these days, it’s not a bad tactic at all – and as the good careerist rock band that The Courteeners obviously are, this third album has been carefully engineered to take their live shows to the arenas and higher up the festival bills. 'ANNA' is an album designed first and foremost to be fun and entertaining – an innocent form of skyscraping indie-rock made with escapism and crowd-participation in mind.

This is a colorful, engaging and enjoyably diverting listening experience. "Are You In Love With a Notion" is a brilliant sing-along album opener. Lead single "Lose Yourself" is a rollicking rock and roll stomp and "Van Der Graaff" shines as an addictive riff-heavy future single.

The album is helped not only by Liam Fray’s undoubted charisma (only he could get away with the "tut tut finger wag" line on "Sharks Are Circling"), but also his uncanny ability to write instantly memorable and classic choruses. 'ANNA' is littered with massive choruses that will have you singing along almost immediately.

Even though 'ANNA' is geared towards a bigger sound, Fray is still very much centre-stage and has his quota of show-stopping and heartbreaking acoustic numbers that nicely show off his lyrical and tender side. "Marquee" is the best of these, which has Fray at his vulnerable and love-lorn best: “Stay up late and think of where you might be / I can’t sleep I’ve got the image of you and him in the marquee / He made you smile when did I stop doing that? / Was it happening for a while? / You should have just said instead I’m lying here wrestling demons in my bed”. It’s an emotional sucker-punch that works well alongside all the uptempo rocking and is sure to go down as a live favorite.

Fans of The Courteeners will undoubtedly herald 'ANNA' as their strongest and most consistent album yet. If you’ve been more of a casual listener, approach 'ANNA' as nothing more than a simple and innocent bit of foot-tapping, sing-along fun and you won’t be disappointed.