Review Summary: Catharsis perfected.
Sometimes it isn't about how technical or original an album is. It doesn't have to be universally acclaimed to admire it. Heck, it doesn't even have to be well-crafted to love it. Sometimes, it’s just about how an album makes you feel. The emotions that an album can invoke in you; it’s that that can make it perfect to you. Those melodies, that guitar riff, those clever lyrics scattered here and there; you just can’t help but to feel something from them.
…that’s not to say that Deja Entendu has nothing worthwhile besides emotional impact.
Long Island-based rock band Brand New’s sophomore album Deja Entendu is special. It isn't the most original album from a musical standpoint, showcasing a hybrid of alternative and emo with hints of their pop punk past. Nor is it highly technical, almost completely made up of simple chords and riffs along with simplistic drum patterns. What it is though, is a voice. It’s the voice of a generation, the disillusioned youth that can actually remember a life in a pre-Columbine society. Vocalist/lyricist Jesse Lacey sang and screamed everything that we all wanted to say but just didn't know how to articulate it in such a manner that Lacey can and did. He understood what we were going through and spoke to a generation. No longer did we feel left out, or alone in our respective situations. We had someone there with us, who spoke for us, and in the long run, helped us.
Mostly why Deja Entendu is such an emotional album is because of Jesse Lacey. His lyrics are relatable and simply honest. Lacey tackles on growing up on ‘Sic Transit Gloria,’ love and death by taking on a metaphor of the ocean on acoustic ender ‘Play Crack the Sky,’ and various other topics. Bringing those lyrics to life is Lacey’s vocal style. He primarily sings while screaming typically at crescendos. When he’s angry, you can sense it. When he’s lost, you can sympathize with him. You can almost sense the desperation in his voice when he sings “I will lie awake, lie for fun and fake the way I hold you, let you fall for every empty word I say.” If you want to characterize Brand New’s albums on the different stages of life, then Deja Entendu would characterize the teenage years to a tee. Struggling to find a voice in a modernized world, experiencing the conflicts of leaving your adolescence behind for adulthood; Lacey lets it all out on this album, and we are here to listen.
As stated previously, that is not to say that Deja Entendu has nothing else to offer besides emotional impact. The instrumentals provide the perfect backdrop to Lacey’s intensely personal lyrics. Complementing the aforementioned line from ‘Me vs. Maradona vs. Elvis’ is a lone guitar strumming various chords. The chords reek of desperation, of hopelessness, much like the lyrics. The crescendo of ‘Okay I Believe You’ which consists of Lacey screaming ‘This is the reason you’re alone, this is the rise and the fall’ also features an intense build-up of instrumentation that crashes back into the chorus of said song. ‘Play Crack the Sky’ is a solely acoustic song and to be honest, I wouldn’t have it any other way. The lyrics concerning love and death can only be perfectly complemented with the easy-going strumming of a sole acoustic guitar. Blaring guitars and drums simply only add on to the lyrics of Lacey’s languish with growing up on ‘Sic Transit Gloria.’ While not the most original compositions, the music perfectly backdrops Lacey’s lyrics and only add to the overall experience that is this album.
And that’s what Deja Entendu is: an experience. This isn’t an album that can be thrown into the background. It deserves…no, demands your full attention, grabs hold of you and lets you know what it has to say. And if you’re smart, you’ll listen, you’ll be thankful later on. Because listening to this album, you realize that you are truly not alone in this world. You realize that people suffered the same you are and they are fine now in adulthood. It gives you that satisfaction that everything just might be okay after all. For all the emotions that it invokes alone, you should listen. Brand New have created a modern classic, and while it may not be the most original record, it’s certainly one of the most emotional records of our time. Simply for how I can connect to this album and the plethora of emotions it produces within me, Deja Entendu is perfect.
‘You know that you are not alone, I need you like water in my lungs, this is the end.’
