With catchy pop-punk hooks, and emotional arragements and lyrics, Brand New have not taken long to shoot up the ladder in popularity. While their first album was a strictly pop-punk affair,
Deja Entendu is an emotional indie rock album. While the album is whiney and typical of the genre that most people call "emo", it is a much more mature record than the previous effort from the band.
Brand New
Jesse Lacey - Vocals, Guitar
Vin Accardi - Guitar, Backing Vocals
Garrett Tierney - Bass
Brian Lane - Drums
With
Deja Entendu, Brand New prove that they've stepped up in the music world. However, much of the album proves that they still have a long way to go. The lyrics on this album are much deeper and have a much less narrow minded perspective. As well as this, they are written about more than simple sour relationships with girls. Although the mood of the album is almost always a negative one, Brand New have managed to write some brilliant lyrics, although it's not all good. The existence of some rather terrible lines really do hurt an otherwise excellent lyrical performance.
What stops this album from being truly excellent is not the lyrics, but the musical side. There are really only two styles of song on
Deja Entendu. The first is the heavy blast of screaming or loud singing and distorted guitars. The second is the soft acoustic track. While it's good to have two different sounds, the predictibility of the album gets unbearable after a while. Despite these issues, Brand New are able to make some truly beautiful songs that are extremely moving. "The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows" is an excellent song with one of the best guitar riffs ever heard in this style. Not only this, it has excellent lyrics and a good contrast between the verse and chorus. Other highlights include "Good To Know If I Ever Need Attention All I Have To Do Is Die", "Okay I Believe You But My Tommy Gun Don't" and "Me vs Maradona vs Elvis". All of these tracks feature the excellent interplay between the guitars, good bass riffs that fit in with the music and pounding drums that provide dynamics. Over the top is Jesse Lacey singing his sad, sarcastic and cynical lyrics. Brand New's second album is nowhere near perfect, but it sure has some great songs and shows the progressive maturity of the band. Hopefully with their next release they can put out something even better,
Pros
The emotional level of the songs is amazing
Great lyrics
Good song structures, before they repeat themselves over and over
Cons
Repetetive and predictable
The scattered dodgy lyrics
No variation
Reccomended Tracks
The Quiet Things No One Ever Knows
Me vs Maradona vs Elvis
Good To Know If I Ever Need Attention All I Have To Do Is Die
FINAL RATING: 3/5
