(I didn't know if this would go here or Null, so feel free to move it. )

Welcome to my review of Daisy, the eagerly awaited Brand New album due out September 22 2009.

First off, if you're looking to avoid spoilers, leaks, and information until you buy the album, you're obviously in the wrong place.

Second, if you're expecting a typical Brand New album (If there is such a thing.) then be prepared to have your doors blown off.

A lot of the time spent waiting for this album has been sitting in the anticipation and hype after their last release, The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me. When the leak came, and we all know how the leak affected TDAG, I think some of us shuddered a little bit. We worried about how Jesse was going to take it this time. If he was going to be prepared for it. Admittedly its the full album, not the demos this time, so maybe that changes things.

People wondered if this album was going to surpass the bar set by the last two, and live up to the hype: I am sorry to say it doesn't surpass TDAG and falls short of the hype.

It is by no means a bad album, and with all the other disappointments that came recently, (Fast Times At x High, New Again, It Hates You) I am thankful it didn't fall into the same pit of 'Good bands going in bad directions.' It's different, it isn't what I was expecting, and it isn't better than TDAG as far as I can see. However, in proper respect, it had some big fucking shoes to fill.

Without further ado, lets move to the first track: Vices
Vices opens up with a female singer doing a bit that sounds like it came out of Bioshock. Its got that old record player sound to it, and is pretty slow and calming. It also did something opening tracks try not to do: Scare the shit out of everyone who was using it to see what the rest of the album was going to sound like. Most bands try to avoid openers that are either too long or too different and set a bad tone in the thoughts of 'What's coming next'. Brand New said fuck that and made one that was a little too long and a little too scary. Half way through, the dame finishes her part, and the guitars kick in, fast and heavy. Jesse does the same half-screaming style you've heard in the full-band live performances of Gasoline.

I also wanted to note here, before we get to deep, that track ordering means a lot. I know today with playlists, shuffle, and generally not having physical copies of CDs we seem to forget this fact. The ordering on Daisy means a lot, and I suggest listening to it in order if possible.

After this we're met with a song the band has played live for us: Bed
Bed is not done proper justice by its live version, it was too slow, too stripped down, and just did not give you a proper view of what the album track was going to be like. This was the exact opposite of Gasoline's full band performance which was played in the same live set. The album version is a track that builds nicely, is decently written, and over all is a solid track. I don't think it's single material, (Neither was At The Bottom) and is certainly not my favorite track on the album.

Next we have the single: At The Bottom
At The Bottom to me, was a bad choice for a single. Then again, I hate the single choice of nearly every band I like (Spin was the most deserving unsingled track TBS ever had.) It is a dark track, as many on this album are. The chorus has a doubling on the vocals which works out nicely, and reminds me of a more standard styled TDAG sort of song. Again, not bad, not a good single, not the worst track on the album.

And here comes the heavy: Gasoline
Gasoline has been played live, both full band and acoustic. This track is the type that can make or break an album, and Gasoline makes good, it is a promise kept. A guitar heavy track with nicely done vocals, and everything it should have been from its live preview. This is the song BN should single, the song that should be on everyone's playlist. I could go on a zombie killing massacre with this on repeat. The end of the song however has a weird outro that we could do without. The single version would probably have it cut off like an ugly tail.

On Gasoline's tail comes the medium track: You Stole
You Stole is a Modest Mouse inspired track inside and out. You can hear it in every word and note. I can imagine Modest Mouse singing this as easily as Brand New. It reminds me a lot of MM's Little Motel. Pause You Stole mid song, and go listen to half of Little Motel, and you can barely tell you've changed song or artist. Aside from the heavy MM influence, the track stands decently on its own two feet. The lyrics are nothing stellar, nor is the music behind them, but it is still a very nice track, and definitely one I'd have to recommend giving a listen or two.

Next comes the nearly-instrumental nearly-audible: Be Gone
Be Gone should be gone its way off the fucking album. It is an instrumental that fails at being an instrumental due to the distorted inaudible vocals placed over it. I will give a medal to anyone who can decipher these lyrics without aid of the band themselves. The tune again sounds Modest Mouse influenced, and if the vocals weren't so over-fucked I'm sure it could be a nice little track. Oh well.

After the disaster we have: Sink
Sink is reminiscent of another MM song, Education this time. Or at least that's how it sounds to me as it starts. It has a lot of slow/fast going on in it, and definitely not something I'd listen to quietly. It would lose a lot of it's effectiveness if listened to in a hush. The song is as well put together as any, it flows very well, and has a nice streak of violence running through it. Its odd in the same ways the TDAG tracks were in structuring, and although it isn't going to be a single, still does well.

The strong hammering end leads us to: Bought A Bride
The lovely Bride was one of the three previewed to us live before the albums release. In regard to the full version, it was done justice. To the acoustic, it was not. Bride is a very strong and well done song on this album, and if it had not made the cut, I can honestly say the whole album might have fell apart. This is a song that I feel keeps this together, sticks with the formula of sounds and subjects and delivers very well. Once again, Jesse uses his religious references to make the lyrics stronger, something he's been doing often ever since Seventy Times Seven. Its a style he does very well, and something that's come to be expected from Brand New. Could possibly be a good single, and if there is any song that will help those of you having a hard time transitioning into this new album and direction, this is it.

We get to the title track: Daisy
The track opens with a man speaking, and quickly gets to Jesse singing about being a mountain been moved. He tells you how he is a sun that doesn't burn hot, among other things. Going on with his comparisons, the track moves into a small boy talking about how he wasn't fighting anyone. I think one random person talking was enough for one track, but Jesse obviously disagrees, and after the boy is done, Jesse continues on his comparisons. He moves into a stronger build up, the pace quickens a bit, and the track ends softly. It is another odd structure like the TDAG songs, and again, not a single candidate, but still solid, and definitely a track that fits in with the album well.

Almost at the end, we get: In A Jar
Speaking of stones in eyes, mouth, and mind, the track opens. Jesse speaks of jars, saviors, and fire flies. The track, which is of medium tempo, fires into a heavier point with Jesse doing his signature semi-screaming. It quiets down continuing as it did, before again exploding. Definitely another track with that fast/slow mechanic Jesse keeps trying to push throughout the album. Its a head bobber, a mover, and definitely a good track that at the same time just isn't for everyone. It's a little odd, a little hard to understand, and a little too Jesse if that makes sense. Definitely one for people who love Brand New, not so much for everyone else.

Our closing track: Noro
I wasn't sure what to make of all these short song titles after BN had been known for having much longer ones before. The album name was much worse and threw me a lot harder than the track names did however (I was still hoping Daisy was a joke.) Noro opens softly, its length of over six minutes giving us impressions that this may be one of the epic build up tracks worthy of being a closer, a brother to the TDAG's formula. The song builds after the first bit of lyrics, and breaks into Jesse commenting that no one he knows sleeps, asking why they never close their eyes. As before the build up we are told I'm on my way out, the track obviously being an evident closer, the lyrics having a lot of finality in them in various places. A good choice of song for this duty of ending the album. Nearing the end, the guitars take over for a bit, (definitely something that I'll be wanting to hear live,) and finishing the powerful section, the track cuts down into an odd noisy piece before we hear our lovely lady who started the album singing her song again.

And so we have come full circle.

The album is pretty short, both in the tracks and their length. We could have done without Be Gone and I don't see how the intro was really all that needed as it didn't do much for me. Admittedly I've only given the album two full listens through thus far, and since it's so early and fresh in my mind, I may come to disagree with a lot of what I've said here. However, as it stands right now, this is the BN album we were given for our time eagerly waiting, and for the most part, it did not disappoint. It was well recorded, well ordered, and sounded well oiled. Smooth from start to finish, there was nothing besides Be Gone that was really done wrong so much as parts that just weren't as good as what could have been. That is again another example of the high expectations that were set for Brand New, but I'm not ready to count this album as a failure just yet. Even if right now it doesn't seem like TDAG's reaper, it may prove to be. You see due to the odd structures, ordering, and style of TDAG as an album, it took many of us, myself included, some time to get our heads around it. Perhaps that's what's going on here, or perhaps not. Time will surely tell.

Post has been edited 2 time(s), last time on Aug 31 2009, 12:12 pm by Excalibur.

nice review, i like be gone but it is weird.