After a three year gap since 2006′s critically acclaimed “The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me”, the group that have been subject to ridiculous hyperbole such as “America’s answer to Radiohead” are back with their fourth studio full-length, oddly entitled Daisy. Opposed to what the album name may suggest, there is nothing life-bearing or illuminating about it. Instead, Daisy continues on the disheartening path trodden by their former releases, and sometimes surpasses it. There are demented moments throughout that sound like a soundtrack to someone slowly delving into insanity, and maybe they are. Anyone following Brand New’s discography would easily note the progressive and intimately depressing nature of it’s content. If this is true, then consider “Daisy” the train finally coming off the tracks.

Frontman Jesse Lacey said himself in various interviews leading up to Daisy’s release that this record would be more raw and louder than anything previously released, a sound more indicative of the band’s live performance. The album opener “Vices” as well as “Gasoline” are both scathing examples of the new formula fine-tuned to perfection, featuring howling feedback, expertly syncopated to Lane and Tierney’s steady rhythm. Both songs sound like someone trying to intentionally break your speakers. “Sink” also plays the part featuring one of the most ruckus-inducing choruses that Brand New have penned to date.

However, as with any experiment, there are times when the formula goes terribly wrong. Lead single “At the Bottom” fails in attempting to be immediately accessible on an album that is anything but. Elsewhere “In a Jar” is a monotone lyrical disaster with verses that are as sharp as a dull spoon. The album’s second track “Bed” feels incomplete and raw, almost as if it wasn’t fully written before the band begun tracking. The trend is not limited to these, as lyrically Daisy leaves a lot to be desired.

In previous releases Jesse Lacey has been the penman, writing the majority of Brand New’s lyrics. For Daisy, it was noted that guitarist Vince Accardi had taken on the daunting task of wielding the pen for the majority of Daisy’s tracks and the change is painfully noticeable. Whereas Lacey has always been noted as one of the sharpest wordsmiths of modern times, his absence on most of Daisy’s lyrical credits is a blinding glare in it’s makeup. Daisy cements itself as the first album since their debut to make me actually cringe at some of it’s lyrical matter.

That is not to say that it is at all an utter failure. There are still moments reminiscent of the Brand New of old. From the halfway point of the enigmatic interlude “Be Gone” Brand New really hit their stride. Both of “Bought a Bride” and the album’s title track shine brightly, showcasing cryptic yet poignant lyricism that is unmistakably vintage Brand New. Where “Bought a Bride” contains some of the album’s strongest material lyrically, “Daisy” features eerie recordings and industrial nu-metal instrumentation that somehow actually works.

Throughout all the struggle and trial that is laced in Daisy’s tracks, the album closer “Noro” is the haunting culmination of it all. Beginning with a wall of feedback the track leads into a ghostly 90 second introduction of Accardi’s guitar work backing Lacey’s exhausted words. Much discussion has been made recently to whether this will be the final release for Brand New. While the response from the band has been somewhat mixed, if “Noro” is any indication, it could very well be the last closing song penned by Brand New. If so, it’s a hell of a way to go out. Before closing with the same hymn that opened the record, Lacey ends the track bluntly “I wanna burn down everything we’ve begun, I wanna kill it, eat my young” before fading out into a maniacal chant of “I’m on my way to hell.” To say that his closing words leave a cold, chilling atmosphere in Daisy’s wake would be a vast understatement.

Though the critical reception for Daisy has been more bi-polar than any release put out by the band, I can’t help but find myself on the fence. Daisy is a fantastic record, but ultimately fails to captivate on the depth of songwriting that has come to be expected from the band. While the run-time of Daisy is an acceptable 40 minutes, it feels more like getting filled up on junk-food versus a hot home cooked meal. This is not to say that Daisy is a “bad” record as many critics would have you believe. The band have stated that this was the record they had to write for themselves in order to stay together. If that is true, then consider Daisy a necessary evil in the legacy of Brand New.

DOWNLOAD:: Vices [MP3]
DOWNLOAD:: Bought a Bride (Acoustic) [MP3]

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