Brand New - Daisy

Here's my review for Brand New's Daisy, which will appear in our school newspaper on Friday. I'll post more on the album later.

Brand New - Daisy

When it comes to the abundance of morbid scream-o bands these days, Brand New have always been a proverbial light in the darkness. Their 2006 album "The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me" was an emotionally draining effort, focused on the band's recent personal tragedies. And now, three years later, they continue their melancholy stories through "Daisy". Coming in at a little over 40 minutes, "Daisy" is a series of quick hits with a few slower tricks thrown in. And while previous Brand New efforts have been very lyrically focused, "Daisy" is layered with a musical maturity relying on guitar distortion, feedback, and everything else up their sleeves. And expect to be surprised, from an intro and outro based on an old-fashioned hymn to "Be Gone," where lead singer Jesse Lacey screams into his guitar's pickups for a minute and a half. And while these additions definitely can detract from the album as a whole, "Daisy" is still a force to be reckoned with. Songs like "Gasoline" and the excellent first single "At the Bottom" are some of the most well-written energetic tracks I've heard in years. Yet the album is dominated by songs where screaming takes a backseat, like the awkward-but-catchy "Daisy" or powerful closer "Noro". At the end, "Daisy" is a noble attempt and a definite maturity for Brand New, but could stand for a little more substance.

4/5 stars.