Brand New's ability to jump from quiet moments to grating, full-throttle freakouts has been the centerpiece of several albums, and the Long Island boys revisit that formula once again with
Daisy. The band's fourth LP begins rather formally, with a classical piano playing beneath a female's prim and proper vocals. Drums, screams, and squelching guitars eventually gatecrash the piano recital, but the effect has lost some of its luster by now, and it's not jarring as much as it is familiar. Yet despite
Daisy's embrace of old habits, the band's rage is still fairly convincing, and a handful of slower songs hint at what may lie ahead for future albums. "Bed" is quietly sinister, a minor-key ballad more devoted to nuance and suspense than pure aggression, and "You Stole" is downright gorgeous at points, its fuzzy guitars finding some sort of connection between
My Bloody Valentine and '50s surf rock.
Brand New may not be completely comfortable with the slow stuff, but
Daisy's willingness to experiment is what makes the album so interesting, even when its furious rock songs struggle to pack a punch. ~ Andrew Leahey