Daisy
by Brand New

From tangerinu 01/16/2015 20:09 | #131678 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

To me, Daisy is the best Brand New album. One may argue that it is because of my slight bias towards post-hardcore over emo, but after listening to Deja Entendu, TDAGARIM and Daisy many times I've come to the conclusion that this album is the best.

Deja Entendu, to begin with, completely blew Your Favourite Weapon out of the water. YFW was not necessarily a bad album, but lacked any real exploration or originality. Deja Entendu was much braver, and as an emo record I'd go as far as to say it's quintessential.

Then we had TDAGARIM which once more moved ahead of their previous album. The alternative rock they incorporated did wondrous things to one's ears, specifically with riffs to Sowing Season, Degausser and Luca. One of my favourite tracks of all time, Welcome To Bangkok, is a must-listen and will melt your face off. However, contrary to the opinion of some, a few of the tracks seemed to be holding the album back a bit, which some may argue added to how it affected the genre - however I see Jesus Christ, Handcuffs and maybe slightly The Archers Bows Have Broken as hindrances to the direction of the band.

Then along came Daisy. Cropping up in the album is "Number 99, Just As You Are", a strange thing to include that somehow emphasizes the manic, animal tone Daisy has. It's filled with thrashy, murderous guitars that coincide with the expressively deep lyrics. Interestingly, Jesse Lacey discussed the meaning of the album at a gig once and said there wasn't really one at all. The album was all impulsive, as if they weren't trying to prove anything to anyone. Brand New had left behind all traces of the emo/punk music they were associated with.

It's just a goddamn amazing album. Let it sink its teeth into your flesh and rip out your tendons like a mad fox.

Bed is a subtle masterpiece. The rest is a really intriguing mix even if it can be as frustrating as it is invigorating

I think these songs lack the punch and edge they had on other releases and I find this release to be the album I get the least enjoyment out of. While there are some fantastic tracks like Bed, At The Bottom, Gasoline and a few more the rest just don't grab me or interest me. The vocals are just as gritty and entertaining as ever though and the guitar work is brilliant in places. This deadly combo is always effective on their records and on this release it isn't any different keeping this album at a high quality. I still find myself becoming disinterested quite regularly and it is like they are missing the spark that made their other albums so good. Furthermore, the lyrics are a bit weaker on this album with some lines sounding a bit silly. Overall, a record that is enjoyable due to the energetic style of BN but it falls short in their discography in terms of quality. (Edited)

From craola 04/27/2015 17:47 | #140403 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

for the life of me, i still can't seem to get into this album. it's not for lack of want or effort either. there are things i like about it, but it's never clicked. some of the tracks are awesome, but the weak spots on the album leave a really bad taste in my mouth. particularly the "stones in your eyes" and "down like a clown in the second round" lines.

Great album, and a natural progression from TDAG. Heavier, grittier and maybe less accessible, but after enough listens you can really get into this album, and it just gets better.

Now I wish they would release a follow up as this album is 8 years old ;)