Brand New – “Daisy” Review

Brand New came on the scene alongside bands like Thrice, Taking Back Sunday, The Used, and all the other acts that blew up around the same time as Fuse TV and Hot Topic.  After their album Deja Entendu, I didn’t think too much of them and I honestly didn’t really expect to hear of them again.  Though they were more original than the other screamo/post-hardcore bullshit coming out at that time, I kinda expected them to fall through the cracks with everyone else.  To my amazement, they put out the album The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me, which, if you haven’t heard it, you should go download it immediately.  That album blew my fucking mind.

Daisy seems to pick up shortly where The Devil And God left off, though this effort is not nearly as poignant.  Daisy is a good album, but compared to their previous, it just doesn’t do the band justice.  Through several front-to-back listens, I found myself becoming almost bored (though it honestly may just be coming from the comparison).  The songs are more than decent, but I can’t help but feel a lack of passion in the writing.  This almost feels like they tried too hard to keep writing in order to avoid the road.

One thing that is very noticeably different on this album is the overall vintage feel it has.  It opens and closes with a female opera singer belting out notes behind old-school, mono vinyl effects, giving the listener phonographic images.  Throughout the entire album, the production gives you this feel, however modernized it may be.  The vocals peak (on purpose) at times and the overall feel of most songs bring you back to a time before radio.  This album is good, but for Brand New, it’s borderline mediocre.  Fans of the band will love it, but for me, it will only get so many rotations in my iPod.  I give it a 3 out of 5 stars.  ***