It would be wrong to used the word let-down when describing this record because, under normal circumstances, it wouldn't even evoke the thought. However, this is the fourth album by Brand New and though it still follows their trend of continuously getting further away from the pop-punk that was their first album (Your Favorite Weapon - 2001), it doesn't quite take the size of steps that both their second (Deja Entendu - 2003) and third ones (The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me - 2006) respectively take. Which isn't a slight against the band, it's actually quite the compliment, The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me, is the kind of album that all bands who are actually in the game for musical creation and not money would kill to make. Depressing, clever, a musical rendition of mood swings and God-complexes, death and loss, completely not radio-friendly, and yet to those willing to get past its quirks, it was an incredibly intense and yet, musically at least, pleasure to listen to.
I'll say this now; If you haven't heard The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me - get off your ass.
Daisy is not that album, there's no way it could be. Lyrically it tries, there are some biting tracks (At the Bottom) and God-complexed ones (In a Jar), but the music just doesn't seem to match the mood. Which is what I'm sure the band was going for, they've already depressed us and now they want to rock our faces.
Which, actually, doesn't seem like the case for the first minute or so of the opening track, Vices. You start off the CD with the gentle sounds of the piano and the stark contrast of a woman singing properly through what sounds like a blown speaker. For a second you start to think, "Did I buy the wrong damn album?" Then, if by chance, you've turned the volume up to better hear the words this woman is singing, you are now deaf. Apparently Brand New needed to remind us listeners just who the hell they are with that opening guitar riff, or just to let you know that the album has officially started.
And, that's the difference with this record; It rocks. It rocks hard, it rocks loud, and it rocks constantly. It rocks so much that you may need a couple listens and a pair of head phones just to appreciate the subtle nuances in each of the tracks, but if you put the effort into it you won't be disappointed. It definitely grows on you, the up-tempo tracks sound great and when it does (rarely) slow down, you're reminded that singer, Jesse Lacey, is better than most everyone at singing in the two extremes. The contrast is joyous.
Oh. If there's anyone out there who would happen to wonder how the piano song at the beginning would end if it wasn't interrupted by pure, unadulterated, face-blasting rock, DO NOT WORRY. The album finishes the listener off right back where they started, which is actually a nice way the tie the album into one cohesive package.
Do I recommend it? Yes. Highly even.
Just not as much as The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me.
I'll say this now; If you haven't heard The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me - get off your ass.
Daisy is not that album, there's no way it could be. Lyrically it tries, there are some biting tracks (At the Bottom) and God-complexed ones (In a Jar), but the music just doesn't seem to match the mood. Which is what I'm sure the band was going for, they've already depressed us and now they want to rock our faces.
Which, actually, doesn't seem like the case for the first minute or so of the opening track, Vices. You start off the CD with the gentle sounds of the piano and the stark contrast of a woman singing properly through what sounds like a blown speaker. For a second you start to think, "Did I buy the wrong damn album?" Then, if by chance, you've turned the volume up to better hear the words this woman is singing, you are now deaf. Apparently Brand New needed to remind us listeners just who the hell they are with that opening guitar riff, or just to let you know that the album has officially started.
And, that's the difference with this record; It rocks. It rocks hard, it rocks loud, and it rocks constantly. It rocks so much that you may need a couple listens and a pair of head phones just to appreciate the subtle nuances in each of the tracks, but if you put the effort into it you won't be disappointed. It definitely grows on you, the up-tempo tracks sound great and when it does (rarely) slow down, you're reminded that singer, Jesse Lacey, is better than most everyone at singing in the two extremes. The contrast is joyous.
Oh. If there's anyone out there who would happen to wonder how the piano song at the beginning would end if it wasn't interrupted by pure, unadulterated, face-blasting rock, DO NOT WORRY. The album finishes the listener off right back where they started, which is actually a nice way the tie the album into one cohesive package.
Do I recommend it? Yes. Highly even.
Just not as much as The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me.
That's the question you ask? What is SHE doing to ME? That's not important and you damn well know it! The question YOU should be asking, hell, the question that I should be asking is; Just what the hell am I doing to her?
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Now playing: Brand New - At the Bottom
via FoxyTunes
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