The Triangle

Issue date: 9/25/09 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Media Credit: Interscope Records

Brand New's fourth and much anticipated album, "Daisy," was recently available to the public. Its 11 tracks show an increasing maturity in the band from its previous albums. Daisy has a much darker tone compared to their previous albums: "Your Favorite Weapon" and "Deja Entendu." I feel as though their last album, "The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me," served as a stepping stone between the old Brand New and this newer, darker, more mature version. Vincent Accardi, the lead guitarist, has contributed more to "Daisy" creatively than in the past and a southern influence has been noted, which could be an effect of the band's friendship with Kevin Devine, another musician.

The first track on the album, "Vices," begins with a woman singing a ballad that sounds as if it's playing on an old record player. My immediate thought was that this wasn't the Brand New CD after all. After about a minute, however, it cuts into a much more post-hardcore sound. It's entirely different from anything they've done before, setting the standard from the start.

The lyrics, "I don't ever wanna go to bed" in the second track, "Bed," are reminiscent of "Degausser's" lyrics, "Goodbye to sleep, I think this staying up is exactly what I need" from "The Devil and God is Raging Inside Me." This is definitely a more expected Brand New sound than the previous track, giving the faithful listener exactly what they want and assuring them that it's still Brand New, despite the newer sound.

"At The Bottom," the single written by Vincent that was released weeks ago, even prior to the album's leak, is brilliant. The third track has a sound not unlike Modest Mouse. "At The Bottom" is another reasonably quotable track by Brand New, although I don't think there's ever been an album quoted as much as "Deja Entendu."

I personally judge a song as make or break by its introduction. The fourth track on "Daisy," "Gasoline," could easily become a new popular single. It has catchy and very quotable lyrics such as "She's trying to put a fire out, she used gasoline/When the congregation gathered round/She's screaming 'it wasn't me'."

"You Stole" is the second longest track on the album. As the fifth track of the album, it has more of a ballad-like sound, giving it a more mature vibe. It breaks away from the rest of "Daisy" with its slower tempo. "Limousine" from "The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me" is similar.

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