Brand New are diving into unfamiliar territory with their new album “Daisy”. The Long Island natives are taking a more aggressive approach to their song writing and playing. Fortunately for them, it works. The new tracks add a new facet for the band and add to their vast array of music masterpieces.
Title: Daisy
Record Label: DCG Records
Release date: September 22, 2009
[rating: 3/4]
The band arrived 2001 with their debut album “Your Favorite Weapon”. Their first two albums established the band with catchy, poppy, angsty emo songs. Their beautifully crafted hateful lyrics, written by lead singer Jesse Lacey, set their trademark. Since those days, Brand New has moved on. With a change up in head lyricist, lead guitarist Vincent Accardi, the days of angsty emo songs are gone, and are the minimum that you’d expect from the band on their fourth album.
Their sound has considerably matured from the first two studio albums. However, “Daisy” is a natural progression from their last album 2006’s “The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me”. The band sound like they’ve managed to achieve what they start ed off with in The Devil. “Daisy” is a swirling mix of moody music, reminiscent of Nirvana. Of course, they’re no carbon copy of Kurt Cobain but the band is far from the days of comparisons to Taking Back Sunday, another Long Island based band. The transformation is so obvious that the boys will probably wince when they have to perform their popish songs of earlier days this fall on their tour.
“Daisy” is full of stage-ready tunes ready to cause strain on Lacey and Accardi’s vocal chords. The album is compiled of brooding melodies and dynamic thrashing, intertwined with piano tunes, reminiscent of the deep South during the 40’s. “Be Gon”e, which plays as an interlude running at a minute and 31 seconds, is acoustic guitar and thumping of the South with lyrics too indistinct to decipher.
Some tracks’ lyrics, such as “Sink” and “Be Gone”, are very distorted. With this album, fans have to listen carefully to hear the lyrics but it’s worth it. The lyrics are beautifully written, such as “Bed”, where Lacey paints a lofty picture in a simple song. Accardi’s lyrics peak with chaos that match the frenzy of guitars in songs like “Vices” and “Daisy”. In the albums last track, “Noro”, the boys bring the album full circle. The piano track, with added operatic vocal recordings, is the same that can be heard in the album’s first track, “Vices”. Lacey, ends this ambitious album with belting out “I’m on my way out” or, it could be heard “I’m on my way to hell”?
Lacey has dodged the questions about whether not he and the boys have it in them for another album, after this draining album. So, fans now have to decide whether they want to accept the bands complete departure from it’s old sound or as a stand-alone album. Either way, “Daisy” is ruthless record that impresses.
I might just have to go pick this one up, thanks to the critique by Ms. Nelly Ortiz! 🙂
Agreed! And they’re from Long Island?! Even better.