 | Tracklist:
01. Vices
02. Bed
03. At The Bottom
04. Gasoline
05. You Stole
06. Be Gone
07. Sink
08. Bought A Bride
09. Daisy
10. In A Jar
11. Noro
| Ranking: #60 for 2009 | |
| | other reviews | Daniel Smith (4.5)
A worthy entry into Brand New's lauded canon of excellent albums.... | JohnnyGetYourKnife (4.5)
'Daisy' is the sound of maturity, showing that Brand New are progressing in their sound, marking one... | Matthew Dippel (4.5)
All around a fascinating and unpredictable listening experience that Brand New present almost flawle... | BobbbyLight (4.5)
Brand New return to give us their darkest effort yet.... | Arnold (4)
To put it simply, Brand New manage to create something unique and like-able with Daisy, but one can... | Richard Craig (4)
Brand New are so c-c-c-controversial, I’ll admit to the truth that they are the best at what they ... | SowingSeason21 (4)
Brand New’s talent for being innovative may be their best trait, and it shows yet again with their... | Pessimist (3)
2009's most overrated album.... |
On 136 Lists
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| Summary: Brand New have completely evolved from the heartbroken adolescents that brought you Your Favourite Weapon, obliterating that memory with each distorted riff and every coarse scream found within Daisy. |
With each new album, we have come to accept the unpredictable nature of Brand New. The drastic change in maturity between Your Favourite Weapon and Daisy is nothing short of remarkable. After all, frontman Jesse Lacey once wrote about his disgruntled relationship with a once-loyal friend; now he reflects on grandiose topics such as the meaning of life. The latest edition takes fans to the limit with perhaps their most uncharacteristic album yet. Sure, Brand New have had their head-banging, mosh pit inducing moments before, but on an album titled Daisy? Don’t get me wrong, the Brand New charm is still here, despite the fact that Daisy is collectively heavier than their past three albums combined, and borders on the line of the unrecognizable (in terms of ‘is this really Brand New?’).
Daisy begins with the feverish “Vices,” a bastard of post hardcore & grunge. This track exemplifies the balance of aggressive songwriting and accessibility found on the rest of the album. Daisy thrives on its ability to find a hook in dense, furious contexts. For example, “Sink” pummels listeners with inaudible screams and furious riffage, but it’s still fucking catchy. Similary, “At The Bottom” features Jesse Lacey’s twangy voice leading the verse to a fitting complimentary balls-out chorus, belting ‘Well I carry this box to its proper place/ And when I lower it down/ I let you fade away/ I know that you would do this for me.’
As inferred from the text cited above, the biggest problem with Daisy is the lyrics. Certain lyrics teeter on the edge of vomit-inducing. Guitarist Vincent Accardi has been credited with most of the vocal/songwriting duties, and to be perfectly honest, they are a letdown from previous attempts (and if Lacey did write that song, shame on him). There is no longer a balance of topical, yet creative lines like, ‘Jesus Christ I’m alone again/ what did you do those three days you were dead?/ cause this problem’s gonna last more than the weekend,’ but a more upfront approach. Essentially, Daisy covers nearly every major topic from The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me, but with less substance and character. Granted, Brand New have come to a point where we may be expecting an unreasonable amount of creativity.
Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails proved you don’t need to be overly technical to differentiate yourself from thousands of other bands. Brand New follows this example. Somber tracks like “Bed,” “Daisy,” and the six-minute gem “You Stole” balance the aggressive moments, adding variety and alleviating any possible question of whether or not Brand New are possessed. “You Stole” in particuar slowly simmers; Lacey’s vocals are at his best until the bridge gloriously ignites the track with squealing guitars overpowering an already thunderous breakdown. But, unlike The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me, Daisy lacks the slow build-up of tracks like “Welcome To Bangkok” and “Luca.” Instead, listeners encounter a barrage of explosive riffs, like those in “Gasoline,” which do partial justice, but are hardly as epic. The beautiful thing is that Brand New don’t need something dynamically explosive to make a statement. Take Daisy’s bass-heavy closer, “Noro,” which maintains a sinister undertone, building upon each tediously picked guitar note. As the song churns, it opens into a perfectly balanced chorus, screaming ‘I’m on my way to hell/(well, I've tried/God knows that I've tried).’ It sounds so numb and apathetic, and any other real feeling would taint the magic created in “Noro.”
Daisy flourishes with diversity, yet remains a complete, effervescent album. Ever since their rise to fame, it seemed like Brand New had something to prove, but more importantly, someone to run away from. Their obvious displeasure with Your Favourite Weapon has been demolished with each distorted riff and every coarse scream in Daisy. This time around, Brand New find themselves squabbling for marquee moments and end up settling for a consistent product. Daisy accomplishes the feat of identifying the band people have come to know; a confused band steadily pushing their musical limits.
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| Recent reviews by this author | | | |
Album Rating: 4
that last review didn't exist.
thank you mx, downer. that is all.
Digging: A Place to Bury Strangers - Exploding Head | | | Album Rating: 4
Great review. We seem to agree on a lot of different albums rating wise.
Digging: The Red Chord - Fed Through the Teeth Machine | | | Album Rating: 4
we'll be neighbors one day
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Probably my favourite review for this, and i haven't even heard it yet.
Digging: Masachist - Death March Fury
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Nice review, I pretty much agree on everything
Hanson's review will suckkk
Digging: Evergreen Terrace - Almost Home | | |
i like the cd ok but feel it will probably grow on me
Digging: And So I Watch You From Afar - And So I Watch You From Afar
| | | Album Rating: 3 | Sound Off
this just flows about a trillion times better than the old one
awesome review, i need to spin this again
Digging: The National - Alligator | | | Album Rating: 4.5
Good review, much better this time. Don't think the lyrics are nearly as bad as the review makes them out to be.
Digging: AFI - Crash Love | | | Album Rating: 4.5
Album is great i think even better than deja
Digging: fun. - Aim and Ignite | | | Album Rating: 4.5 | Sound Off
review flows much better now, glad I could help
Digging: Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind | | | Album Rating: 4.5
Rate it higher strikey
Digging: Deadmau5 - For Lack Of A Better Name | | | Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off
I hope when all 4 staff reviews of this are done every featured slot is a different Daisy review, just to show how big fanboys Sputnik is of Brand New.
Digging: Boredoms - Vision Creation Newsun | | | Album Rating: 4.5 | Sound Off
Great write-up, mate.
Digging: Owl City - Ocean Eyes | | | Album Rating: 3.5
I hope when all 4 staff reviews of this are done every featured slot is a different Daisy review, just to show how big fanboys Sputnik is of Brand New.
LOL i can see it now
Digging: Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate) - What It Takes To Move Forward | | | Album Rating: 4.5 | Sound Off
I hope when all 4 staff reviews of this are done every featured slot is a different Daisy review, just to show how big fanboys Sputnik is of Brand New.
is a legitimate possibility, no lie.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5 | Sound Off
I can too, actually, which is kind of scary.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5 | Sound Off
scary shit bro
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"i like the cd ok but feel it will probably grow on me"
I had to listen to it about 4 or 5 times before it clicked.
love the title track..."I'm a word that no one wants to say"....beautiful line.
Digging: Thrice - Beggars
| | | Album Rating: 4
all songs are catchy so this grew on me right away
Digging: Opeth - Ghost Reveries | | | Album Rating: 4.5
Good job bro
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