Artist Watch: #1- Brand New

Ignore the name. Brand New have been on the scene for the best part of a decade now, enjoying public fame and acclaim ever since the release of their second album, entitled Deja Entendu. They’ve previously toured as support for bands such as Taking Back Sunday and Less Than Jake, whilst they’ve also progressed through a multitude of musical genres (e.g. pop punk, alternative rock and post-hardcore). What makes this New York four-piece so special then? I set about finding an answer.

Brand New began life at the start of the millennium, as a venture on from a former band known as The Rookie Lot. That band existed from 1998 to 1999, and consisted of three Brand New members (Jesse Lacey, Garrett Tierney and Brian Lane). When The Rookie Lot disbanded, these three chose to play on together, and were soon joined by Vincent Accardi, to complete the line-up.

In 2001, the group released their debut album, Your Favourite Weapon. Though this didn’t kick-start a successful career in the music industry, it was certainly met with a fairly favourable reaction. What was most notable about this album was the strength of the songs' lyrics in general (an example being this excerpt from the track Mix Tape, which demonstrates a certain wit: “This is the first song for your mix tape. And it's short just like your temper.”), in direct comparison to those of the many other similar bands of that era; a skill that Lacey, the principal songwriter, has developed and transferred across to all subsequent albums, during the band’s lifetime so far.

It’s safe to say that in recent times, Brand New have had a chiefly melodic (and loosely acoustic) sound associated with their music – and it’s been self-adopted, but don’t be fooled into letting this detract too much attention away from their “anthem” style tracks (The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows, from Deja Entendu, is a prime example of this), which are just as pleasurable on the ear as the calmer songs tend to be (unless you decide to whack it up to full volume; by that point, you may hear what they have to offer for a fraction of a second, and then nothing more for the rest of your life).

The one big problem Brand New has is that they perpetually undersell themselves. Sure, they receive the plaudits for their work, but they aren't chart toppers; not by a long shot. They pick up far less promotional and press coverage than they should, and in addition, they choose to allow a very select selection of their songs out on to the open market as singles; despite having released 3 albums so far, only 5 singles have come in tandem. As a result, they are underrated (I myself admit that to this very day, I continue to regard them in a lower state that I should do, given my highly positive opinions of them), undervalued, and most importantly, are relatively unknown outside the US. It’s a shame that a band with such great potential to make it big will induce a great number of confused looks whenever their name is uttered in countries such as the UK.

Their third album, The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me, is, in my humble opinion, one of the best, most solidly constructed, and most beautiful collections of music tracks gathered on to one CD made to date. When listening, you can feel the toil and emotion that has been poured into every square inch of it. The enormous contrasts in sound made between each song are extraordinary, reflecting, yet building impressively on from the progress they made in Deja Entendu. Jesus, one of the two singles released, sets out an atmosphere of tranquillity, coupled with a drum beat to toe-tap to. It builds up slowly to a very powerful climax, heightening your senses along the way. Sowing Season, the other single, starts off gently, lulling you into thinking you’ve got something you can lay back and listen to in peace. After a minute or so; drums, bass, guitar and vocals hit you nearly all at once, impacting on you unforgettably. Luca will make your heart bleed, while the opening of Not The Sun is an earth shaker. The background, too, to several songs plays a vital role in polishing some of the spiky, rough edges that comes with the un-cleaned sound (it is evident that a few tracks were not re-recorded). Limousine (MS Redbridge) represents the death of a young girl, who was killed by a drunk driver. A fantastic variety of angles exist in this album, and somehow, they manage to complement, and not clash with one another. Truly, it defines ingenuity.

This band doesn't do a good follow-up. It does a vastly superior one.

The emo-orientated, pop punk rockers turned alternative, melodic rock-based, mature and experienced set of men (including dashes of screaming and heavy guitar accompaniment) have a lot to give the world of music. My suggestion to you is to give them a chance.