Brand New challenges fans, new listeners with 'Daisy'
Fear is a thing of the past with the new release from genre-bending artist Brand New
Craig Bidiman
Issue date: 9/23/09 Section: Diversions
Yet again, Brand New lives up to its name.
Never ones to conform to a specific sound, the New York outfit has released what may be its most astringent album to date.
When The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me landed in 2006, fans were wary of the path the band was setting. As they received high acclaim from their 2003 album Deja Entendu for its commercial and contemporary appeal, fans found the new sound a bit too dark. However, I found it a breath of fresh air from a scene that only seems to include artists afraid to reinvent and explore.
Daisy is this exploration for lead singer Jesse Lacey and the men in Brand New.
In a number of interviews, Lacey has stated that the group was not writing the album necessarily for the benefit of fan appeal, but instead to appease their own live vibe with the songs - which is not a hard thing to ask for. The artists wanted to play music they will actually want to play. Because let's face it, they can't play "Jude Law and a Semester Abroad" for their entire career.
For those daring enough to enter this new realm of experience, you will be fairly surprised.
From the cassette click that initiates the album with a 90-second clip of the hymn "On Life's Highway," then into the highly abrasive first track "Vices," listeners will have no idea where they are. Even I needed to re-evaluate if I was listening to the same Brand New I had been listening to for nearly seven years.
"Vices" may only last an extra 90 seconds from the hymn, but with its raw energy - reminiscent of "Seventy Times Seven" - you become well aware this album is going to be a very difficult animal to tame.
"Bed," which I consider one of the album's gems, comes on next in a very familiar Brand New manner. Its subtle simplicities are what make it such a comfortable song on the album.
The first single off the album, "At The Bottom," showcases what has gotten Brand New to where they are today. The lyrics on this song are truly some of the most brilliant I have heard in a long while: "Some men die under the mountain just looking for gold / Some die looking for a hand to hold."
Never ones to conform to a specific sound, the New York outfit has released what may be its most astringent album to date.
When The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me landed in 2006, fans were wary of the path the band was setting. As they received high acclaim from their 2003 album Deja Entendu for its commercial and contemporary appeal, fans found the new sound a bit too dark. However, I found it a breath of fresh air from a scene that only seems to include artists afraid to reinvent and explore.
Daisy is this exploration for lead singer Jesse Lacey and the men in Brand New.
In a number of interviews, Lacey has stated that the group was not writing the album necessarily for the benefit of fan appeal, but instead to appease their own live vibe with the songs - which is not a hard thing to ask for. The artists wanted to play music they will actually want to play. Because let's face it, they can't play "Jude Law and a Semester Abroad" for their entire career.
For those daring enough to enter this new realm of experience, you will be fairly surprised.
From the cassette click that initiates the album with a 90-second clip of the hymn "On Life's Highway," then into the highly abrasive first track "Vices," listeners will have no idea where they are. Even I needed to re-evaluate if I was listening to the same Brand New I had been listening to for nearly seven years.
"Vices" may only last an extra 90 seconds from the hymn, but with its raw energy - reminiscent of "Seventy Times Seven" - you become well aware this album is going to be a very difficult animal to tame.
"Bed," which I consider one of the album's gems, comes on next in a very familiar Brand New manner. Its subtle simplicities are what make it such a comfortable song on the album.
The first single off the album, "At The Bottom," showcases what has gotten Brand New to where they are today. The lyrics on this song are truly some of the most brilliant I have heard in a long while: "Some men die under the mountain just looking for gold / Some die looking for a hand to hold."
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