Album Rating: 4.0

The demo for Sowing Season moves me in very deep ways....

Album Rating: 4.5

I like that tracklist sowing, but I'm sticking to my hot take since like 2007 or whatever - first half of that album is a 5 and the second half is a 3 at most. Not the Sun and Handcuffs are huge stylistic outliers which have no real business on that album and there's really nowhere you can put them they would fit. my ideal version of that album would have been like



1. Sowing Season

2. Millstone

3. Jesus

4. Degausser

5. Limousine

6. You Won't Know

7. Welcome to Bangkok

8. 1996

9. Luca

10. Missing You

11. Archers Bows Have Broken

12. Brother's Song

13. Nobody Moves

Album Rating: 4.5

I do really like that order too even if Missing You bucks the atmosphere and Brother's Song is unnecessary. I'm gonna try it.

Album Rating: 4.5

Like the idea of Nobody Moves as a closer, too. Is that the 2006 remaster or the 2015 rework?

Album Rating: 4.5

I actually don't know which version's which - the one that has the "with your lives, we will trade, we will make our getaway" backing vocal bit in the second verse, aka the version that doens't have the weirdly bad vocal performance. I think it's 2006



I would only listen to the album in this order, except the 2016 Missing You sucks and the 2006 ones are a bit too lo-fi to fit in on a playlist

Album Rating: 4.5

also Brother's Song is one of the best Brand New songs, don't @ me

Album Rating: 4.5

Lol its good but it wouldn't fit in TDAG I don't think

It's more of a Deja song

@ROWAN

Yeah I've always loved that song. Can't imagine any changes to TDAG tho

Album Rating: 4.5

I'd never actually want to alter it, just idle imagining.

Album Rating: 4.5

if Handcuffs can fit on TDAG why not Brother's Song? they're almost exactly the same type of music it's just the latter has great lyrics while the former has literally the fucking worst

Album Rating: 4.5

same kind of music as in they're both acoustic, but the lyrics to brother's song, as well as the mood (political), doesn't match TDAG nearly as well as handcuffs (depressed, suicidal)

personally I prefer brother's song by a hair, but only as a standalone song not as part of tdag

Always enjoy your reviews, Sowing.

The fact that you haven't 5'd this has surprised me greatly though, haha.

Shame that Jesse Lacey's a nonce...

Honestly, why are we still talking about/listening to Brand New? We can’t separate the art from the artist and continue to support them if we want abuse to stop happening in the scene.

(Before anyone pounces on me, they were one of my all time favourite bands until the allegations came out about Jesse Lacey)

"the latter has great lyrics while the former has literally the fucking worst"

Handcuffs has literally the worst fucking lyrics? what? I don't even know how to relate with that thought. what am I missing here?

lyrics to handcuffs ain’t great but musically it more than makes up for if

idk, in a world where Sputnikers are enjoying ariana grande lyrics I just can't really see how Handcuff lyrics are bad lyrics at all. I'd say I mainly like the song for the instruments and overall tone, but the lyrics go hand in hand with the tone. they make sense, and they're real dark.

"Missing You is absolutely one of their very best songs
Band still makes me feel icky, great review tho bud"

hard same. I found myself listening to videos of the show I went to right after Science Fiction came out and right before the allegations came out and while this band's music still crushes me, I can't (and won't) get over it. Every reference in this review and in their lyrics to a loss of innocence means something so much darker now.

idk man. If he raped a girl, or even slept with a minor (he didn't, according to the allegations) then yeah this would be much worse. but I feel like people really blow this whole thing out of proportion sometimes. did everyone assume these lyrics were a reflection of when he pushed his friend down on the playground? screen-peaked on a splitscreen game of Halo? Like yo this is real life, people fuck up and yeah these lyrics were actually written about things he feels deep remorse over.

It sucks that he was evidently a piece of shit 15 years ago. But he didn't hire a hitman to kill his fuckin wife or anything like that.

I'm really not willing to get into this debate over sputnik haha, other threads have tried and failed to be a useful discussion point for it. you're welcome to your opinion/reaction tho

"idk man. If he raped a girl, or even slept with a minor (he didn't, according to the allegations) then yeah this would be much worse. but I feel like people really blow this whole thing out of proportion sometimes. did everyone assume these lyrics were a reflection of when he pushed his friend down on the playground? screen-peaked on a splitscreen game of Halo? Like yo this is real life, people fuck up and yeah these lyrics were actually written about things he feels deep remorse over.

It sucks that he was evidently a piece of shit 15 years ago. But he didn't hire a hitman to kill his fuckin wife or anything like that."

He basically did the same thing that Front Porch Step did, but the difference is Front Porch Step was lynched for it (and rightfully so), but of course because it's Brand New, people are willing to ignore the allegations because they enjoy the music. Like, if it was Attila or a band everyone hated who did that shit, everyone would be calling for a witchhunt.