Brand New Grows Up, Forgets Distortion on Guitars: Deja Entendu
Written: Jul 15 '03 (Updated Jul 15 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Everything got better.
Cons: Too much acoustic stuff.
The Bottom Line: I'd even go as far as giving it 4.5 stars... if that was possible.
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| dancingpotato's Full Review: Deja Entendu - Brand New Movies |
In 2001, Brand New offered their debut album, Your Favorite Weapon. It was a fairly straightforward collection of catchy hooks and break-up songs and although it was a great album, I wasn’t expecting innovation with the follow-up. Imagine my surprise when the album was released in mid-June. It was a whole other monster; more powerful, more mature with better vocals and better musicianship. It follows the logical progression of things and if this keeps up, we’re in for a hell of a ride.
The last album was full of high-energy riffs; this one scraps that in favour of a calmer sound reminiscent of Coldplay or Bright Eyes. Everyone seems to have improved tremendously in terms of talent; singer/guitarist Jessie Lacey’s voice has turned from the typical emo/punk whine to full blown rock. That said, if you thought Brand New was a little too wimpy in their previous album or are not a fan of this sort of indie rock sound, then avoid this album. I personally think it’s a more accessible album to people who are new to the band, but people who were fans of the first album could be alienated.
1. Tautou The album opens strangely with this short little song consisting of two lines (I’m burning like a stone for your body/I’m sinking like a stone in the sea) repeated over and over again. I don’t exactly see the relevance of this song (which is presumably about French actress Audrey Tautou, star of one of Lacey’s favourite movies, Amélie) but it’s not exactly like it overstays its welcome, clocking in at 1:52.
2. Sic Transit Gloria… Gloria Fades An absolutely awesome song; the bass lines in this one are killer. A three-part harmony runs for most of this song about the awkwardness of a sexual relationship (He is the lamb/she is the slaughter/she’s moving way too fast and all he wanted was to hold her). This song perfectly illustrates the “growing-up” of the band; everyone’s a better musician and the lyrics are more mature and conscious.
3. I Will Play My Game Beneath The Spin Light Where ‘Failure by Design’ (on YFW) was about the experience of recording the album, this one takes the perspective of the band as they face endless touring. Lacey doubts his career choice (Oh, I would kill for the Atlantic/But I am paid to make girls panic while I sing) in this beautifully written song.
4. Okay, I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don’t The best song off the CD, and possibly the best song Brand New have ever made. It’s a perfect track, through and through; a slow, ironic song about a rock star suffering from an over-inflated ego. It’s as if everything the band ever did was to lead to this song. “Oh, my tongue’s the only muscle on my body that works harder than my heart,” sings Lacey. Like many songs on the album, it starts out slow and the tempo picks up just before you think you’ve had enough. Absolute perfection.
5. The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows Soon to be the first single off the album; it’s not quite ‘Jude Law and A Semester Abroad’ (the first and only single off YFW) but it remains a solid song. It’s one of the heavier songs off this album and it actually sounds like a song that The Used would do.
6. The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot If anyone can’t see the Coldplay resemblance in this album, I urge you to listen to this song and Coldplay’s ‘Yellow’ back-to-back. This song is a virtual cover of the Coldplay song; it’s a beautifully written song of bitter lost love. Not original, but with lines like “I’ll be a brand new day in a life that you hate”, how can you resist?!
7. Jaws Theme Swimming This one sweats emotion; there’s nary a more emotional voice than Lacey’s in the “emo” world (yes, yes, I know that emo was originally hardcore with emotional lyrics, but that’s not what we’re debating here). This isn’t one of my favorite songs off the CD; hell I can barely find anything to say about it. It’s not bad, far from it; just unremarkable.
8. Me Vs. Maradona Vs. Elvis Another one of my faves ; this is the one song on the CD that starts out slow and stays slow throughout. The song documents a semi-consensual sexual relationship just after closing time. “You laugh at every word trying hard to be cute/I almost feel sorry for what I’m gonna do” whispers Lacey with his trademark (and if it isn't a trade mark yet, it'll soon be) voice. I get chills just typing it.
9. Guernica An extremely beautiful, powerful song about being helpless while loved ones are dying. The sudden transition from soft whispers to a balls-out rock chorus is very well pulled off.
10. Good To Know That If I Ever Need Attention All I Have To Do Is Die What a title. More of a traditional rock song than most songs on the album; it’s a bit too long for it’s own good, clocking in at almost seven minutes, but it remains a good song.
11. Play Crack the Sky A melancholic tale of lovers committing suicide at sea, ‘Play Crack The Sky’ is yet another acoustic ballad. If there’s anything wrong with this album, it’s the over-abundance of acoustic songs. There’s nothing wrong with this song; it’s just that by the end, the CD has very much filled its quota of acoustic songs and you get mighty tired of acoustic songs.
People are apparently very split on this album; some see it as brilliance and others want the old Brand New back. I can’t say that I agree with either opinions; it’s true that this is different but I’m not going to crucify this band for wanting to innovate. The album’s major flaw is the over-abundance of acoustic tracks; otherwise, it’s a great CD, perhaps even a must-have for fans of the genre. It’s more accessible than the first album; even if you don’t particularly like this kind of pop punk, you should at least give this one a listen. You could be pleasantly surprised.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
dancingpotato
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Location: Jonquiere, Quebec, Canada
Reviews written: 75
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Sporadic is sexy, baby.
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