Brand New Albums (4)
What The Critics Say
Brand New's ability to jump between quiet textures and grating, full-throttle passages has been the centerpiece of several albums, but the Long Island boys revisit that formula once again with Daisy. The band's fourth LP begins rather formally, as a classical piano plays beneath a female's prim and proper vocals. Drums, screams, and squelching guitars eventually gatecrash the piano recital, but the effect isn't jarring as much as it is familiar, a tell-tale sign of a band not quite ready to ditch its old habits. Yet despite Daisy's familiar tricks, the band's rage is still fairly convincing, and a handful of slower songs hint at what may lie ahead for future albums. "Bed" is quietly sinister, a minor-key ballad more devoted to nuance and suspense than pure aggression, and "You Stole" is downright gorgeous at points, its fuzzy guitars finding some sort of connection between My Bloody Valentine and '50s surf rock. Brand New may not be completely comfortable with the slow stuff, but Daisy's willingness to experiment is what makes the album so interesting, even as its furious rock songs continue to pack a punch. ~ Andrew Leahey, All Music Guide
'The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me'
Release Date 1/1/2006
Tracks 12
Label Polydor
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
When Brand New released Deja Entendu in mid-2003, it caught a lot of their fans off guard. It found the band taking a stylistic leap forward from the clever (albeit cookie-cutter) pop-punk of their 2001 debut, exploring expanded sonic textures and indie rock overtones, their urgent choruses tempered by acoustic musings and softer introspections. It all seemed very deliberate yet completely natural all the same, and the record was an underground smash. Something even more substantial was definitely brewing beneath the band's emo façade, and as a result, Brand New's follow-up was hotly anticipated for the three years it took the band to release it. The resulting The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me is the completion of their pop-punk molting process and one of the best surprises -- that isn't really a surprise at all -- to come out of 2006. Even when they were playing straightforward pop-punk ditties, Brand New had an edge to them that made them seem smarter than their peers; now they sound even older and stronger (and like they've been listening to a lot of '90s college and indie rock). This record is dark and dense, yet accessible, a shadowy air permeating every crevice where Jesse Lacey's plaintive and often tortured lyrics aren't already residing. He draws listeners in with vulnerable ruminations and questions of love, death, self, and religion, and his vocal inflections bring as much meaning to the table as his carefully chosen words. The opening "Sowing Season" ebbs and flows steadily, moving along under light guitar before exploding with percussion, Lacey ably switching from a hushed delivery into an anguished cry of emotion before falling back down again effortlessly. With it, Brand New sets up the somber intensity of the record straightaway. Textural and sonic layers unfold at every turn -- punching drums and trembling guitars here, aching vocals and subtle touches of string there -- and the album moves with a directed force that seems so naturally powerful and uncontrived, it's almost ridiculous to think that the band cut its teeth with poppy anthems like "Jude Law and a Summer Abroad." The Devil and God is not an album of hooks; the excellent percussive stomp of "The Archers Bows Have Broken" is the most immediate here, but songs get stuck in the brain nonetheless and demand repeated spins. Old fans especially smitten by Deja's "Play Crack the Sky" have no excuse not to love everything about this record, as even lengthy tracks (like the near-eight-minute "Limousine" or the chill-inducing beauty of "Jesus") are completely compelling. People who were ready to discount Brand New into the emo/TRL heap of the 2000s better rethink their stance; Brand New seems to know exactly what they're doing and this record is a testament to their ability to stay true to themselves. Whether they want to stay underground or fully break into the mainstream, this album has the potential to do either. Either way it doesn't really matter -- whatever happens, there's no denying how excellent this record is. ~ Corey Apar, All Music Guide
'Deja Entendu'
Release Date 1/1/2003
Tracks 11
Label Sorepoint (Full Time Hobby)
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
As the popularity of emo and punk-pop plateaued, many bands had a lot to prove to stay in the game. As of 2003, Brand New had sidestepped any notion that they'd be stuck in the prototypical mold found on Your Favorite Weapon. Unlike their debut, Deja Entendu isn't all about bitter breakups and doesn't fall into a permanent punk-pop hole. Produced by Steven Haigler (Pixies, Quicksand), this sophomore effort finds Brand New maturing, reaching for textures and song structures instead of clichés. They still, however, alternate their full-on blasts with slower acoustic work, which doesn't hurt. Many antiromantic lyrics such as "my tongue is the only muscle on my body that works harder than my heart" saturate the disc, but there's still some resentment with downers such as "I hope you come down with something they can't diagnose and don't have a cure for." "The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows" is one of the stronger tracks and isn't so much a fresh entry as it is a rewrite of their semihit "Jude Law and a Semester Abroad." It's not quite déjà vu; it's just consistent. ~ Kenyon Hopkin, All Music Guide
'Your Favorite Weapon'
Release Date 10/9/2001
Tracks 12
Label Triple Crown
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Brand New is bitter about ex-girlfriends. Just how bitter? The lyrics to just about any song on their debut will give you an inkling, especially "Seventy Times 7," where they grieve: "Have another drink and drive yourself home/I hope there's ice on all the roads/And you can think of me when you forget your seat belt and again when your head goes through the windshield." Aside from all the excessive post-breakup angst, Brand New's emotive pop-punk holds up nicely among the big list of its contemporaries. There are several upbeat anthems with three-part harmonies, though a few ballads break up the high energy. They pay respect to post-punk in "Mix Tape," where they mention the Smiths, while cribbing from the Cure's "Close to Me" in "Logan to Government Center." The repeating refrain of "This isn't high school" in "Last Chance to Lose Your Keys" at least acknowledges that they've grown up, although in the closing singalong "Soco Amaretto Lime" they declare, "I'm gonna stay 18 forever." You'll probably feel 18 listening to this. ~ Kenyon Hopkin, All Music Guide
