Album Review- Brand New "Daisy"

by: Alex Mayfield

Brand New returns with their next studio album, released almost 3 years after their masterpiece, The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me. Daisy, their most recent album, continues with songs depicting the struggle between life and religion. Brand New’s Devil and God…, was one of my favorite albums of the decade and there is no way that such greatness was an accident.

Track one; entitled “Vices” starts with a clip from the song “One Life’s Highway” written by Bertrand Brown. It starts slow and brings this hymnal feel and suddenly……..HITS YOU WITH A TON OF BRICKS! Jesse Lacey proclaims for the need for “Vices” as pulsing drums and distorted guitar rings in the background. It kicks of the album in an interesting way. It immediately drops to a more somber tone with the second track, "Bed," which drives on while Jesse Lacey’s lyrics discuss uncertainty and his voice sings discontent. Brand New continues their solemn journey through the track "At The Bottom" which falls into similar style used on Devil and God… The track itself bleeds a mysterious power while Lacey’s vocals provide an ominous, but still gripping, atmosphere while he goes on yelling, “Well I carry this box to its proper place, and when I lower it down, I let you fade away.” The pace gets faster with the track “Gasoline” as Lacey screams for understanding.

The next track on the album, "You Stole," could very well be one of Brand New’s most powerful tracks ever. It drives with an unstoppable force that creates a sense of pure beauty. It pushes forward, demanding for your attention. "Be Gone" follows Brand New’s precedent of placing unique and weird things into their songs right before blasting into the high energy "Sink." The energy doesn’t lessen through the track "Bought a Bride," where powerful vocals and an intense arrangement, keep you engaged. The tempo takes break but the energy doesn’t on the title track. With this song being the title track you would expect for it to be superb, and it doesn’t disappoint. The backing guitar and the forceful drums create for a grave but powerful experience.

It’s a good thing when the weakest song on an album is a good song. "In A Jar" lacks some of the pure emotion that the rest of the album seems to have an abundance of, but the emotion returns in the final breath with the song "Noro." The song screams out and bleeds a dark feeling that finishes the album on a high as vocals proclaims, “I’m on my way to Hell.”

In my opinion, it will be almost impossible for Brand New to create an album that is better than Devil and God… However, Brand New comes very close. I challenge you to find a band that puts as much pure energy and emotion into every note they play. “Some Men die under the mountain just looking for gold” and Brand New found it! 8.5 out of 10.

Download: "You Stole," "Daisy," "At the Bottom"