Daisy // Brand New

It’s been a long three years waiting for this record, and you have to wonder, what are Brand New going to come up with, considering how close to perfection 2006’s The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me was.

The record opens with a strange introduction that doesn’t give you much clue as to what direction the band has moved in, and then BAM! in your face is Jesse Lacey’s scream. The opening track “Vices” is a burst of energy and anger, and not the usual Brand New sound. You have to wonder if you’ve got the right record… But as you listen and the songs proceed into the record more, you start to recognize the familiar Brand New sound. As soon as the second track ,“Bed”, starts, Lacey’s unique voice is instantly recognizable. From there on in, the record seems to lose the fast-paced energy that it originally started with, but it is not lacking in intensity. Songs are slower and more melodic, both in vocals and instrumentation. By the time you are nearing the end of “At The Bottom” there are elements that listeners will recognize as familiarly employed on TDAGARIM (ie the drums). When listeners reach track 5 “You Stole” they will be graced with a song that could have easily fit in on TDAGARIM, and this will get those die-hard fans happy I guess. Things don’t ever really speed up to what the record opened with, but “Sink” is as close as it gets, and “Bought A Bride” probably matches it’s intensity. The flourish of the last few tracks all become familiarly Brand New-esque again, with a bit of a Thrice’s The Alchemy Index: Volume III and IV (ie bluesy feel) is thrown into the mix as well.

This record seems to step backwards in terms of maturity musically, but having read Jesse saying “We were thinking a lot more about what we’d want to play when we were up onstage rather than actually what you’d want to hear on a record.” in an interview with Kerrang! you can’t help but realize that yeah, he was right, these songs would translate amazingly well into a live atmosphere. It is more raw, brutal and angry, assisted heavily by the increased presence of Jesse Lacey’s spine-tingling scream.

Initial Thoughts: Cover art isn’t too impressive and the working title of the record And One Head Can Never Die was much more interesting. I wonder what direction they will take compared to TDAGARIM…

Now: It’s a different enough record to not become TDAGARIM no.2 and the band have been able to be diverse, but still incorporate enough of their familiar flavor to make it a recognizable Brand New record. Brand New have written a good record, but I am still unsure, or reluctant, to admit that it’s not as good as TDAGARIM.

Best Track: A very hard decision, because I’m a huge Brand New fan and love all their stuff, but it’d have to be a close tie between “You Stole” and “Bought A Bride” for listeners who have never picked up a Brand New disc before. For listeners who are more familiar with Brand New, “Daisy”.