Searching for merchandise from this band on eBay has always been nearly impossible. Unless of course you are looking for that *W/TAG* Ann Taylor Loft brown dress, or brand new nun chuck Wii controllers. Debuting at their highest yet, #6 on the Billboard charts, fourth full length Daisy finally gives justice to the title Brand New. Why? Well because this album is no Devil and God, no Deja and especially no Your Favorite Weapon. After the three previos installments and some nervous but always approving fans, Brand New solidly proves what they’re best at. Reinvention. Although a few aspects have remained with the band from the start. Most importantly the original line up of front man Jesse Lacey, lead guitarist Vinnie Accardi, Bassist Garret Tierney and Drummer Brian Lane (though the band recently added Derrick Sherman in 2005). The most surprising change in Daisy is that most of the lyrics were written by guitarist Vinnie. 2006’s The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me sent fans for a loop as its release showed the more serious and eerie side of Brand New. Unlike its previous, Daisy’s feel is harder, vocals are rougher, and overall sound jumps from spectrum to spectrum. The first track “Vices” opens with a coarse 1950’s hymn giving no warning to the grungy power house second half. Crazed guitars and wild wails make this track something you’d expect to see somewhere in the likes of 1990 Fugazi. The similar track “Gasoline” continues to show off Lacey’s new vocal patterns straying far from his past calm soothing woos (ya know, the kind that made girls panic…). On “Sink” vocals are balanced between raspy screams and more subdued verses. The album stabilizes with the softer first single “At The Bottom.” Full of gut wrenching and retrospective lyrics “Now I’m drowning in the flood I made/ Well explain myself to me on the other side/ I’ll watch from Heaven when I die” this song is one of the few which make Daisy a paddleball of an album. Also attesting to this is the bass drum laden “Bought A Bride.” Vocals full of anger convey the tense emotions of the song while guitar and bass roll nicely into a getaway car type feel. Title track “Daisy” begins with Lacey’s all too common vocals and haunts with forest like background sounds behind a dolefully mumbling child. A hectic array of instruments takes over halfway through the song making it one of the albums catchiest. The closing “Noro” is one of Brand New’s best. It’s simple and powerful. The track includes a combo of both deep and distanced background vocals and an addictive head-bopping drum beat. This track also showcases the top quality lyrics the band is never lacking (plausibly no matter who the lyricist) “Why won't anyone just close their eyes/ Could it hurt them to rest for a while/ Do they need their friends to be a lover/ Or a lover to be a friend.” As the song dies the opening hymn kicks back in a seals the album to its close. As Brand New slowly molds themselves into a band with staying power, and not just a group of pop-punk Long Islanders from 2000, fans stand by. Desperately waiting years at a time to hear how their band has reinvented themselves this time. Previously achieving somewhat of a cult fan base, Daisy is sure to open many new ears to what Brand New has become, and will hopefully keep creating for years to come. For now we’re in the years of Daisy, the next reinvention can only be imagined. Check out a few tracks from Daisy at Brand New's Myspace - http://www.myspace.com/brandnew |
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