Every* Brand New Song, Ranked
Because the most arbitrary lists are often the most fun to compile. This website being what it is, I apologize in advance for both being "that guy" yet again and for being completely fucking wrong. But hey, I'm a Brand New fan - I'll never get anything right. |
| 71 |  | Brand New
Your Favorite Weapon
“...My Nine Rides Shotgun” - In this list, you’ll soon see the stark difference in quality between pre- and post-Demos Brand New, but even Your Favorite Weapon has some standards. That “...My Nine Rides Shotgun” still failed to meet those should tip you off to the fact it’s among the band’s worst. |
| 70 |  | Brand New
Science Fiction
“No Control” - When the Science Fiction lists were first going around, I remarked “No Control” was my least favorite song by the band since Deja. After giving the full discography a proper listen again, it’s even worse. Plodding, inoffensive, underexecuted - these are all adjectives describing the one thing keeping the band’s final effort from entering “is it 5-worthy?” discussion. |
| 69 |  | Brand New
Leaked Demos 2006
“Battalions” - These days considered a melodic prototype to “Archers,” there isn’t much else of note with “Battalions.” Unlike the best of the leaked demos, this one doesn’t quite feel like a fully-realized song, and Jesse’s delivery in the verses is lethargic enough to pull the whole track back, even once it finally gets going. |
| 68 | | Brand New
Your Favorite Weapon
“The No Seatbelt Song” - I know it’s some people’s favorite from the band’s earliest effort, but to me “No Seatbelt” has always felt out of place, a slow-burner that doesn’t quite reach the emotional resonance it sets out to. The high-pitched guitar drone is mixed obnoxiously high too, and the whole affair is essentially only redeemed by its solid chorus melody. A case of a band trying to experiment past their capabilities. |
| 67 | | Brand New
Your Favorite Weapon
“Secondary” - And we’re already at the “good” songs! Ultimately you could swap most of the YFW tracks with one another and it’d hardly make any difference. Indeed, “Secondary” is still fine on its own, but easily one of the most forgettable on the record. |
| 66 | | Brand New
Your Favorite Weapon
“Last Chance to Lose Your Keys” - The transition from the pre-chorus to the chorus is fantastic, as is the vocal layering at the song’s close. Both save “Last Chance…” from falling victim to YFW’s overall sameyness. |
| 65 |  | Brand New/Safety In Numbers
Split
“Moshi Moshi” - Weezer worship. Solid Weezer worship, mind you, and it could’ve been a nice addition to the band’s earliest release, but that isn’t saying much. |
| 64 | | Brand New
Your Favorite Weapon
“Magazines” - I mean, as far as songs about masturbation go, it’s pretty good and contains some of the better harmonies on its album, but there's not much else worth mentioning. |
| 63 | | Brand New
Your Favorite Weapon
“Logan to Government Center” - Another one of the band’s least musically memorable moments, though as someone who too has been overwhelmed by Boston, it at least earns some nostalgia points. I’d argue that “whoo!” as the song enters the bridge is one of the finest moments on the album too. |
| 62 |  | Brand New
3 Demos, Reworked
“Brother’s Song” - Even as a reworked demo, “Brother’s Song” basically rides on its emotional appeal - and as far as that goes, it’s touching and relatable, but also pulled off better one track later. |
| 61 |  | Brand New
Deja Entendu
“Tautou” - The introduction to Deja is just that: an introduction to the album’s themes and matured sound, but one that’s also reliant on its follow-up track to deliver any real punch. |
| 60 | | Brand New
Deja Entendu
“Okay, I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don’t” - Arguably Lacey at his most stuck-up, and while the almost stream-of-consciousness style verses are still solid, the song’s transition from verse to chorus has always felt super jarring and abrupt to me. Like a lot of Deja, it hasn’t aged particularly well either. |
| 59 | | Brand New
Your Favorite Weapon
“Sudden Death in Carolina” - A slight step up from those other YFW cuts, I’ve always liked the chorus’ metaphor and the opening guitar riff in this track. |
| 58 | | Brand New
Your Favorite Weapon
“Jude Law and a Semester Abroad” - An enduring fan favorite, “Jude Law” was a great choice for a first single, one of YFW’s most well-rounded and representative tunes. |
| 57 | | Brand New
Deja Entendu
“Good to Know That If I Ever Need Attention, All I Have to Do is Die” - The song’s almost as long as its title, and while some of the problems that plague Deja songwriting-wise are still present here (tedious pacing, jumpy transitions, etc.), the long instrumental jam that closes out this track is superb. |
| 56 | | Brand New
Beer: The Movie
“Flying at Tree Level” - Written between YFW & Deja and only released on this soundtrack some years later, “Flying at Tree Level” would’ve felt right at home on the latter album, showcasing the band’s earliest progression from naive pop punk to a more cynical alternative edge. |
| 55 | | Brand New
I Am A Nightmare [Single]
“I Am A Nightmare” - It’s understandable longtime fans hated the pop punk throwback of this track when it came out in 2016, but if it had appeared on Your Favorite Weapon, it would’ve been an indisputable highlight. |
| 54 | | Brand New
Science Fiction
“Desert” - One of Science Fiction’s most controversial tracks lyrically (I'm indifferent), this love-it-or-hate-it number still features a killer chorus melody and some beautiful, tensive guitar licks. |
| 53 | | Brand New
Your Favorite Weapon
“Seventy Times Seven” - Once you’ve heard that bridge, you’ll never forget it. Prime teenage angst that only YFW’s monotonous instrumentation could detract from…and it does, but not by much. |
| 52 | | Brand New
Your Favorite Weapon
“Failure by Design” - If you’ve ever tried writing and recording music before, “Failure by Design” is beyond relatable. A lot’s changed since 2001, but the frustration of that process hasn’t, making this one of the band’s most enduring early tracks. |
| 51 | | Brand New
Science Fiction
“Out of Mana” - This song’s verses are a notable weak point on Science Fiction, but when it brings the heat as one of the album’s most high-octane cuts, it fucking rules. The energy released as the song wraps to a close is fantastic, and like many, I would’ve loved a full version of the acoustic interlude the band tacked onto the end here. |
| 50 | | Brand New
Deja Entendu
“The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows” - One of the band’s rare album singles, and a good pick for one too; “Quiet Things” is conventional but covers the bases well. The chorus is one of Deja’s catchiest. |
| 49 | | Brand New
Deja Entendu
“I Will Play My Game Beneath The Spin Light” - If nothing else, this tongue-in-cheek commentary of touring and fandom holds up better than most of Deja’s snarky bits do these days. |
| 48 |  | Brand New
Daisy
“At the Bottom” - On an album whose ethos is letting loose, “At the Bottom” comes off as noticeably calculated, sort of like a Modest Mouse B-side with deeper religious overtones. And it’s quite good at that, but also easily the least interesting stuff Daisy has to offer. |
| 47 | | Brand New
Science Fiction
“Same Logic/Teeth” - Definitely gonna get some shit for putting this so low, but so be it - I just prefer Science Fiction’s more brooding tracks. Don’t get me wrong though - “Same Logic” fucking explodes, and the outro of “Teeth” is some of longtime collaborator Mike Sapone’s best mixing to date. |
| 46 | | Brand New
Deja Entendu
“Guernica” - I’ve griped about Deja’s forced verse-to-chorus transitions already, and “Guernica” is perhaps the album’s biggest offender of that, but as someone who’s also lost a family member from disease while away, its lyrics still hit me like a train. |
| 45 |  | Brand New
The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me
“--“ - Can’t think of any justification for putting TDAG’s untitled interlude any lower. It genuinely entrances me in a way few songs of its ilk do. Gorgeous atmospheric piece and a well-placed palette cleanser after the brutal ending of “Luca.” |
| 44 | | Brand New
Your Favorite Weapon
“Mix Tape” - This may well be the only time I’ve heard a band arrogantly namedrop themselves without ruining the song. Then again, I’m a sucker for anything acoustic. |
| 43 | | Brand New
Daisy
“Bed” - Its lyrics are some of Daisy’s weakest, but “Bed” makes for fantastic whiplash right after the unhinged fury of “Vices,” introducing the record’s softer, vaguely Americana-influenced sound well. |
| 42 | | Brand New
Leaked Demos 2006
“Good Man” - Considering how many songs Lacey’s written about bitter breakups and wishing ill on the people who left him, “Good Man” is a warm, kind of adorable breath of fresh of air. |
| 41 | | Brand New
Daisy
“Be Gone” - “Be Gone” is the type of essential track cursed by interlude status; like Daisy’s own “Fitter Happier,” it sums up the album’s themes succinctly in the midst of the chaos and is legitimately unnerving on its own merit as well. |
| 40 | | Brand New
The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me
“Luca” - The centerpiece of TDAG’s back half for a reason; “Luca” is a sprawling monolith of a track from ominous beginning to inaudible whisper to bombastic finish. On paper, it’s perfect; the only thing missing is the emotional stranglehold the rest of the album accomplishes better. |
| 39 | | Brand New
Deja Entendu
“Me vs. Maradona vs. Elvis” - Many of Deja’s more upbeat tracks lose their emotional poignancy as a result of excessive boasting. This one, however, captures and sells the inherent sadness of both that personality and the actions that result from it. |
| 38 | | Brand New
The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me
“The Archers’ Bows Have Broken” - Although easily the least cohesive song with TDAG’s overall themes, “Archers” is still an absolutely lovely track with one of the best guitar riffs and choruses the band’s ever written. |
| 37 | | Brand New
Your Favorite Weapon
“The Shower Scene” - As far as song structure goes, YFW’s opener has the whole rest of the album beat, featuring great jolts and time signature shifts unheard throughout much of the disc. It was a prime fit to be the album’s first track, and I’m glad the band didn’t pass that opportunity up. |
| 36 | | Brand New
Science Fiction
“Can’t Get It Out” - It may be one of Science Fiction’s most straightforward songs musically, but the grunge here is thankfully stuffed with some of Lacey’s most clever post-TDAG lines, elevating it from a decent track to a great one. |
| 35 | | Brand New
Mene [Single]
“Mene” - Unyielding, loud, and distressed, this twangy jam was a great single when it was first unveiled and it’s held up even better. Though it could’ve fit in on any of the band’s last three albums, it’s definitely got a unique flavor best suited for its own release. |
| 34 | | Brand New
Daisy
“Bought a Bride” - It may be sandwiched between two of Daisy’s greatest, but “Bought a Bride” holds its own with some of the best lyrics on the record. The wailing guitar tone in this song is immaculate too. |
| 33 | | Brand New
Daisy
“Gasoline” - Ditto for this explosive one; great tune with even greater lyrics, and I’ll never get over how eerie the minute of feedback after the song is. |
| 32 | | Brand New
The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me
“Sowing Season (Yeah)” - I’ve heard The Devil and God so many times now those opening chords to “Sowing Season” have been ingrained into my memory. The bridge has always been a tad melodramatic, but it speaks to how strong this song otherwise is that the refrain can be just the word “YEAH,” over and over and it still feels urgent and genuine. |
| 31 | | Brand New
Daisy
“In A Jar” - Always adored the riff on this track, and while it took me years to decipher half the lyrics here, it was well worth it. Desperate and uneasy, this track is a perfect buildup to “Noro.” |
| 30 | | Brand New
Deja Entendu
“Jaws Theme Swimming” - Easily one of the grooviest tracks in the band’s early discography; the swing of the verses contrasts spectacularly with the pummeling chorus, and the lyrics here are some of Lacey’s best from the pre-TDAG era. |
| 29 | | Brand New
Mene [Single]
“Out of Range” - Look, I’m not necessarily saying that every song to quote “Life Like Weeds” is good by default or strong enough to stand on its own, but this one most certainly is. Hypnotic and introspective, it would’ve been a great fit on Science Fiction. |
| 28 | | Brand New
3 Demos, Reworked
“Missing You” - The instrumentation and tone are entirely different, but this is basically the more dynamic equivalent of “Brother’s Song” in spirit. Very glad we got a reworked version of this one. |
| 27 | | Brand New
Daisy
“You Stole” - Though most of Daisy flies by in short bursts, “You Stole” earns its nearly 6-minute runtime; think of it as the “Luca” of its album, a perfect sonic representation of the overall sound that only falls this low because other individual tracks have clearer individual strengths. |
| 26 | | Brand New
Science Fiction
“In The Water” - And in turn, this is that sort of track for Science Fiction, effectively the album’s thesis statement in slow, hazy ballad form. Bonus points for the chilling reprised soundbites as the song fizzles out. |
| 25 | | Brand New
The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me
“Not the Sun” - The scrappy, poppy underdog of an album mired in grief, I don’t mind if you dislike “Not the Sun” or don’t agree with its inclusion on TDAG, but if you tell me that bridge isn’t one of the best moments in the band’s discography, you’re lying to yourself. |
| 24 | | Brand New
(Fork and Knife) [Single]
“(Fork and Knife)” - The stripped back, adult contemporary-esque arrangement of this song is undeniably one-of-a-kind for Brand New, but with a piano lead this gorgeous, it doesn’t even come close to disappointing. |
| 23 | | Brand New
Science Fiction
“Lit Me Up” - Most of the time, when Brand New get quiet, they’re smartly biding time to reach a breaking point. With “Lit Me Up,” they stay subdued for a full six minutes - as the start of the album, no less - and yet they keep the song’s momentum alive and gripping. |
| 22 | | Brand New
Daisy
“Noro” - For years assumed to be the band’s final album track, “Noro” would’ve been quite a way to go out; even for Daisy's standards, it constructs a hellish nightmare where the only way out is to run back to where the record began. |
| 21 | | Brand New
The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me
“Millstone” - Most of TDAG is rooted in existential dread, but “Millstone” takes a more relatable, personable approach to loneliness and guilt. Whether it strays a little too far lyrically is surely up to you, but the chorus’ “woooah”s and the forceful drum outro are two of the album’s clear highlights to me. |
| 20 | | Brand New
Science Fiction
“Waste” - Another lyrical highlight on Science Fiction. I love that chord progression as the song enters the chorus, and the way the whole track blends its lumbering pace with prickly, creepy atmosphere is just perfect to my ear. |
| 19 | | Brand New
The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me
“Welcome to Bangkok” - Probably one of TDAG’s most overlooked successes. Foreshadowing Daisy, this track begins quietly and just grows and grows until it runs off the rails, torment drawing nearer with each passing second. |
| 18 | | Brand New
Science Fiction
“451” - If “Noro” were influenced by blues and southern rock, this would be the result. As you’d expect, it’s a fucking blast. Bless Sapone once again, the dynamics on here are nothing short of riveting, and once that key change comes in…oooof, what an incredible penultimate track. |
| 17 | | Brand New
The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me
“Handcuffs” - Accardi’s unpolished, blunt lyricism will always be a divisive topic even among the most hardcore Brand New fans, but while I usually find it fits well with aggressive instrumentation, “Handcuffs” is such a highlight precisely because it lacks that; the track’s cinematic orchestration and tender sense of longing paired with shit like “I’d drown all these crying babies?” It shouldn’t work, and yet for me, it just does. Beautiful closer. |
| 16 | | Brand New
The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me
“Degausser” - Nobody will ever know the “true” lyrics to “Degausser,” but I can make my peace with that because it’s such a propulsive, agonizing track the specific words are but a secondary concern - and it’s only a shadow of the epics that immediately succeed it. |
| 15 | | Brand New
Your Favorite Weapon
“Soco Amaretto Lime” - It’s hard to take Your Favorite Weapon seriously these days, so of course the one track that stands the test of time is the one track that itself makes a mockery of the album’s superficial fleeting teenage feelings. Even if that effect still ultimately comes down to one gimmick, the rest of the song holds its own as a delightfully dorky singalong-er. |
| 14 | | Brand New
Daisy
“Sink” - Lyrically vague but overwhelmed by a sensation of malice, “Sink” seems to be one of the band’s favorite live staples and it’s just as addicting to jam out to on disc. |
| 13 | | Brand New
Deja Entendu
“Sic Transit Gloria…Glory Fades” - While Lacey plays predator for much of Deja, he opens the album as prey, vulnerable and (for the time) uncharacteristically defeated. In many ways, it foreshadowed his shift in lyricism from that album onward, but the overtly sexual nature of the song still sets it apart. Tierney’s opening bass line is one of his proudest moments in the spotlight too. |
| 12 | | Brand New
3 Demos, Reworked
“1996” - A jack-of-all-trades song; from the lyrics to the riffs to the flawless rhythm section, this thing is one of Brand New’s most overlooked gems. |
| 11 | | Brand New
Deja Entendu
"Play Crack The Sky” - It’s grown off me a bit over the years, but Deja’s acoustic closer is still an elegant, minimalist expression of hope in the face of dying love. That vocal layering at the end is to die for. |
| 10 | | Brand New
Daisy
“Vices” - I must’ve heard “Vices” a hundred times or more at this point, but that instantaneous segue out of “On Life’s Highway” will never fail to make me flinch. It’s a bold move to start an album off with raw, unchained noisiness like this, but it paid off and remains one of Daisy’s clear highlights. |
| 9 | | Brand New
Science Fiction
“Batter Up” - Bittersweet and spacious, “Batter Up” is the end we didn’t want to come, and considering its runtime, I think the band feels the same. But that time always comes eventually, and I love how they bowed out with uncertain, simple grace instead of something more abrasive. A very satisfying career-closer. |
| 8 | | Brand New
Leaked Demos 2006
“Nobody Moves” - By far the best Brand New track to never land on a proper album, “Nobody Moves” ebbs and flows with suspicion, a post-hardcore powerhouse in a vaguely post-rock framework with one of the finest crescendos I’ve heard out of either genre. Aside from, you know, most of the seven tracks here yet to come. |
| 7 | | Brand New
Science Fiction
"Could Never Be Heaven" - Delicate and reserved, "Could Never Be Heaven" glistens like a reflective surface in the dark at an unnatural angle. It's about depression as much as it is love, and the quiet acceptance of both is simultaneously grim and beautiful. |
| 6 | | Brand New
Deja Entendu
"The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot" - Deja's most timeless cut is also its best overall, a simple and sweet ballad that checks every box of emotional resonance. |
| 5 | | Brand New
Daisy
“Daisy” - The industrial influences on Daisy are most apparent on its title track, which starts off more fragile than almost anything else the band had done and slowly layers itself until it can’t grow any more without losing its sense of frailty. Surrounded by a litany of more violent material, “Daisy” is the scared, helpless soul hiding beneath the rubble, and it’s downright captivating. |
| 4 | | Brand New
The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me
“You Won’t Know” - Already a devastating piece about guilt and death on its own, “You Won’t Know” is almost unbearably dark as the aftermath to “Limousine.” |
| 3 | | Brand New
Science Fiction
“137” - Again, basically a flawless song from a musical perspective, intensifying from one simple riff to an eviscerating, catastrophic close. For a man whose lyrics often reflect a fear of God and the self, Lacey changes things up by placing his worries on our own destructive tendencies as a species - and as long as we’ve got countries casually testing nuclear weapons, this track’s motif will never stop hitting close to home. |
| 2 | | Brand New
The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me
“Jesus” - Most of my favorite Brand New tracks are wrought with tension built into the instrumentation, but “Jesus” is simply pretty, letting Lacey’s ruminations take the reins…and do they ever. I don’t remember which song introduced me to this band, but I do remember this is their first one I loved, and it feels just as striking now as when I first heard it nearly a decade ago. |
| 1 | | Brand New
The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me
“Limousine” - I’m probably not alone in claiming music “changed my life,” but “Limousine” legitimately made me terrified of driving back in the day and it’s one of the reasons - along with an unflattering family history of alcoholism - that I’ve long committed myself to abstain from drinking. So yeah, safe to say this one track has personally impacted me more than most music I’ve ever heard, and it’s also arguably the band’s best work from a composition standpoint too, split into several segments each as engrossing as the last. The accumulating countdown to seven in the bridge is heartbreaking in ways I can’t entirely describe, and that final solo and dissipation into feedback seal the deal. This is one of the greatest songs I’ve ever heard and expect it to remain so forever. |
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