smarterthan3's Full Review: Your Favorite Weapon by Brand New
Here it is, the obligatory off to college/minor hiatus prelude to the final review you'll probably see from me in a month (Now that I've said that, I'll magically pull one or two out of my sleeve, but I don't have a problem with that). The college I'm attending (Word of Life Bible Institute) has a probation on most music listening the first month you're there but I'm sure I'll be far to busy then to write much (But I'm not saying that will stop me). I will be posting all the lyrics from my 'album' during that time span, so I certainly won't be unheard from. Hopefully I'll be able to continue this discography series next time you read something new on me. Until then, keep it cool people.
In the vast world (barren wasteland?) of the punk and/or emo scene, there are a countless number of debut albums that all have the same basic foundation set in stone by the most popular of the genre. Most of the fledging artists never make it past their debut album, 98% of them deservedly so. But everybody has a band or two that they latch on; a handful of dirt and stones where they see a twinkle of something that might be either a diamond or a piece of metal. It, naturally, takes another release or three to concretely decide what that glint seen so long ago was, but whoever did that with sometimes punk, sometimes emo Brand New and their 2001 debut album "Your Favorite Weapon" should be given props. Because "Weapon" is the promising start to one of the most underappreciated bands this side of the 21st century 'alternative' music wave.
Jesse Lacey is the man behind the pointless titles, decent lyrics (They would definitely improve as Lacey's experience level faded from green to brown) and a voice that is simultaneously desperate and confident, in quite the troubled way. Those vocal chords are blanketed in an electric throwover on album opener, "The Shower Scene." It's a blazing mash-up of guitars and a free wheeling drumset, and it ignites the countdown to get the album started. Still, it's quite the forgettable number in the big scheme of things. If the band gained any popularity from this 2001 release, it came from lead single "Jude Law and a Semester Abroad," which is an open letter to an ex of some sort from Jesse. It's a number amped up in the punk attitude section, the lines are decent, if never forced, and it's a generally spunky number that's worthwhile.
"Sudden Death in Carolina" has some smirk-worthy humor in it, if you can look past lines like "Call 911, I'm already dead" regarding unrequited love. There's nothing magnificent here, but the drum solo-esque chorus adds a nice drop to the free-flowing water slide of guitar patterns you've heard a couple hundred times before. The band's most emo moments flow freely on "Mix Tape." It opens with delicate strings as Jesse berates what I can only assume is an ex (I know girls nowadays think guys who continually insult them are funny or worth being around, but I don't get that’s the impression getting conveyed here), peaks in a cheap, tumulus swirl of simplistic riffs and repeated lyrics, and washes itself down with an instrumental frenzy, which doesn't hit nearly as hard as it sounds, which eventually folds into itself. If nothing else, "Failure By Design" stands out thanks to its stomping riffs (regarding rhythm, not impact) and Jesse's at first overtly-cocky stance.
"Last Chance to Lose Your Keys" is a much more generic, airy variation of an already small and unconfident product. Still, with a decent hook in the form of the sing-along chorus and lines like "It's girls like you that make me think I'm better off...Home on a Saturday night," it's as good a track as any to serve as a definition of an epitome of the album. "Logan to Government Center" and "Seventy Times 7" are nothing grand; simply unarguably decent emo moments. "Magazines" surprises because of an overt punk slant: simplistic lyrics, hyper spurts of guitars and just an overall attitude of heartbroken spunk. It's very Blink-182 of them, and it comes as a nice wake-up call before the finale. I'd call it the point in a night where the visiting couple goes "Well, I guess it's about that time," and it comes at the most dry point in the album, so it's definitely welcome.
Warning: The following description is most likely quite subjective. "Soco Amaretto Lime" is the acoustic finale where Jesse tells the tale of a summer bursting at velcro strings of memories, parties and enthusiasm. I have to smirk with mild joy at lines like "We're the coolest kids and we take what we can get: the hell out of this town." Some may get indigestion, but lyrics that childishly reject thought of the future are contrasted by the mature shtick of the light strings, and I simply find it (because of my current place on life's timeline) irresistible.
Simply put, "Your Favorite Weapon" is a worthwhile debut because it isn't majorly devoid of the same elements and talent that the band would manifest in their next two releases. I honestly can't tell if I like this album so much because it was the start of what is close to becoming one of my favorite bands (This was the final LP of BN's that I was able to purchase), so I'll compromise, if only because there really isn't anything that does differentiate "Weapon" from any band with one album under their belt (at the time). Still, if you enjoy the sound, it's solid, if cheaply produced at times.
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