I’d put my life savings on the fact that if this didn’t have the words ‘Brand’ and ‘New’ on the front cover, hardly anyone would bat an eyelid. Due to the fact that BN fans are like a pack of rabid dogs, desperate for any little snippet of ‘news’, over-analyzing lyrics and generally making Jesse Lacey a God for the emo generation, there’s absolutely no way this record can ever be less than a 5 out of 5 for the vast bulk of Punktastic readers. I know for a fact that 90 per cent of the people who read and comment on this review will disagree with me. I expect to get abusive emails and ripped from pillar to post for daring to go against popular opinion. But fuck it. It’s the job of a reviewer to give his opinion and that’s what I’m going to do. And in my opinion this is a desperately disappointing, and at times practically unlistenable, album. It’s Brand New‘s worst output by a stretch.
Those who proclaim this album to be a world beater simply haven’t listened to Jesus Lizard before. Or Fugazi. Or even Nirvana – ‘Bed’ sounds like something from ‘In Utero’ if it was written and recorded during the ‘Bleach’ years. If you were expecting ‘Daisy’ to be a ‘Devil and God’ part 2, then you’ll be sorely disappointed. This is a dark and depressing record that’s mixed up in Jesse’s haunting screams and shouts. The guitars have been turned up too. But there’s pretty much zero melody here and no choruses. If you got into the band because of their radio singles, expect to find none on this album.
‘Daisy’ starts with the bizarre ‘Vices’, a track which starts off with a sampled vocal of an old woman singing before launching into a desperate sounding Jesse vocal that screeches and shouts in front of the most aggressive Brand New have ever been. It’s weird…but it does kind of work. Sadly it’s one of the few high points. The aforementioned ‘Bed’ drifts along aimlessly, with huge passing nods to Nirvana in the vocal, while ‘At The Bottom’ is a very weak first single, in my opinion anyway. ‘Gasoline’ also has a kind of squally guitar line that Nirvana liked, but it’s more Jesus Lizard than Kurt Cobain. The vocals are pretty much inaudible, so those who love to obsess over the lyrics may well be disappointed.
‘You Stole’ is a genuinely interesting song and at six minutes it twists and turns really well. ‘Be Gone’ is totally and utterly weird, while ‘Sink’ is one of the best songs on the record. There’s a feeling of desperation that Brand New have captured really well. It doesn’t sound like BN at all, but it works well. It’s probably the only song on the whole record where I connect with the band and where they are clearly trying to go in the future. I’m sure there’s significance behind the album’s title track and the weird little boy who speaks on the track, but it baffles me. And I’m also sure there’s some hidden meaning behind ‘Noro’ which is already being speculated to be the band’s goodbye. But I’m sure the fanboys will dissect that song over time.
This isn’t an album most people will ‘get’. Many will declare this the best album they’ve ever heard simply because it’s by Brand New. But it isn’t. At all. It’s hugely disappointing – the sound of a band desperately disappearing up their own arse. If ‘Devil and God’ was the sound of a band doing their own thing, ‘Daisy’ is the sound of a band fucking with their fans. It’s almost as if Jesse Lacey and his bandmates decided to dress up a turd to see if the public would still worship it. OK, that’s maybe a little harsh, but the analogy is spot on.
Jesse Lacey has said in interviews this album will polarise opinions and he’s not wrong. Personally I’m very, very disappointed. I remember hearing ‘Your Favorite Weapon’ for the first time just after it came out and loved it. ‘Deja Entendu’ was a huge step up and, quite rightly, catapulted them into the mainstream. ‘Devil and God’ was almost a reaction to that and while I loved it at first I quickly grew bored of it. ‘Daisy’, for me, misses all the right notes. I’m sure critics will love it, Wembley Arena will be full in January and the legions of fans will say it’s the best thing since sliced bread. But I’m massively, massively disappointed.