Artist: Brand New
Album: Daisy
Label: Interscope
Year: 2009
Genre: Alternative Rock
Bit Rate: VBR
url: http://www.myspace.com/brandnew
Despite being one of the few who felt a tad underwhelmed by 2006's critically-lauded The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me, I recognize it as a fairly dramatic turning point in the band's career. It was them venturing into foreign territory: implementing the loud/quiet dynamic with much success, relying more on raw emotion than manufactured melodies, embracing their alternative and indie rock influences. This was a band three years removed from the public eye, and those three years were spent shaping their major label debut into a more mature and sullen affair. While a significant portion certainly deserved it's share of praise, the latter half of the album felt terribly unsure of itself. What began as a focused, deliberate effort soon became a slew of forgettable material, tired and complacent. The band was definitely capable of writing great songs, but a consistently great album was another story.
Fast forward to another three years and another release surrounded by just as much hype and speculation as the previous one, if not more. A comparison is unavoidable, though there's not much to it: Daisy spins circles around it's predecessor with a fierceness and fluidity that their back catalog could have only dreamt of.
If The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me was Brand New earnestly, albeit cautiously exploring different directions to take their music, then Daisy is them yelling kicking and screaming with all their might, finally breaking free from the restraints that have so securely held them since Deja Entendu. This is a band that finally feels comfortable in it's own skin, and as a result are writing their most compelling music yet. Look no further than album opener "Vices" for evidence, which is as good an introduction to their new intensity as any. What begins as a sample featuring hushed piano and soaring female vocals erupts without warning into the band making it's most volatile and jarring entrance to date. The guitars are angular and noisy while the bass is thick and driving, culminating with the band channeling their inner Jesus Lizard during a particularly raucous guitar lead near the end of the track. It's a tangled mess of a song, gone as fast as it came, and it serves it's purpose wonderfully, which is to introduce the prospect that this isn't any Brand New album we've heard before.
Interestingly enough, following the turmoil of "Vices," "Bed" is the most conservative you're likely to find Daisy. It's comfortable with itself enough to explore less abrasive dimensions, never feeling the need to intensify as per typical fashion. For whatever reason I noticed a lot of Modest Mouse comparisons to the first single "At The Bottom," which I would consider apt, not because they necessarily sound alike, but because both bands share the ability to write dark, deceivingly dense songs that are also accessible and immediate, which defines "At The Bottom" to the tee. Having been playing together for almost a decade, guitarists Vin Accardi and Jesse Lacey accommodate each other like the best of friends, responsible for an entwined, layered interplay, "At The Bottom" being no exception.
"Gasoline" is a tightly-wound balancing act, nervous and stiff with tension only to inevitably buckle under the pressure and explode with some of the most palpable conviction vocalist Jesse Lacey has ever put to record, screaming (what sounds like) "I want to know what is the great divide, I want to know I've become / You think that no one else is lonesome, you think that you're the only one / It feels like I'm jumping towards a train." Though Lacey is still the focal point of most songs, he is supplemented by a band more confident than ever. The rhythm section of bassist Garrett Tierney and drummer Brian Lane are thrust into the spotlight during "Bought A Bride," making use of a heady syncopated rhythm that helps anchor some of the band's most engulfing verses to date. Guitars flare thick with distortion, while Lacey summons from depths TDAGARIM could have never seen: "Should've been a soldier, I could have fought and died / There's no revolution, so I bought a bride" Lacey is visceral and compelling here, unafraid to match the volume of the surging instruments around him. The song, like most others on Daisy, seems to welcome the lack of sheen that characterized past production. The band must have been listening to a lot of albums engineered by Steve Albini, because the album is their rawest, most uncompromising and powerful yet. It is not surprising to learn the songs were written with a live setting in mind, because many of them sound like they were transplanted straight from the stage.
It is my pleasure to report that Lane's drumming has improved tenfold since their previous release. One of my biggest gripes with TDAGARIM was the monotony of the drum playing, with much of "Jesus Christ," "Millstone," "Limousine," and "You Won't Know" sounding nearly identical on drums. This time around Lane has chosen to employ a much more versatile approach, which lends itself to the more cohesive sound compared to the awkward TDAGARIM. It feels like Lane is finally an integral part of the band, joining in on the fun instead of merely providing a beat and a tempo. No track exemplifies this better than the excellent "Daisy," where Lane's lumbering contributions to the second half of the song help solidify it's place as not only one of the strongest of the album but of their career. The self-contained explosion mid-song is unlike anything else the band attempts on Daisy, which quickly locks into a bulky labored groove before being buried underneath layers of Lacey's vocals and flickering reverb. It's the band experimenting with a new type of release, and fortunately for us, it's wholly rewarding and Brand New at their most cathartic.
The curious but ultimately skip-able "Be Gone" is a minor blemish, though at 1:30 in length it poses little threat. Daisy could have benefited from another song, as it suffers from a bit of brevity, but a concise, cohesive album is preferable to one uneven in mood and tone.
Whether it's the pensiveness of "Bed" and "You Stole," the ebb and flow of "At The Bottom" and "Sink," or the tension of "Bought a Bride" and "Gasoline," Daisy's strength lies in it's versatility and confidence. Throughout it's duration you'll notice there's very little this band is afraid of. Though it may take some time to adjust to it's unapologetic nature, the album is their most passionate and interesting yet, and a welcome addition to their already fantastic catalog.
Tracklist
1. Vices - 3:24
2. Bed - 3:10
3. At The Bottom - 4:04
4. Gasoline - 3:32
5. You Stole - 6:00
6. Be Gone - 1:31
7. Sink - 3:20
8. Bought A Bride 3:07
9. Daisy - 3:06
10. In A Jar - 3:06
11. Noro - 6:27
http://www.mediafire.com/?fyjyy3ninrr
