brand new: a new direction in music
Brand New
DEJA ENTENDU
Label: Triple Crown
Release: June 2003
Type: Full-Length
Genre: Alternative Rock
Links: Official, MySpace, Wiki
"I'm sinking like a stone in the sea / I'm burning like a bridge for your body" -- quite an opening line, huh? Deja Entendu is Brand New's second-full length record. For anyone who has followed them since their debut record, Your Favorite Weapon, you were no doubt surprised in this sudden change in music style. YFW was a collection of frustrations, potentially driven by hormones and teen angst. It was filled with heavy power-chord riffs and Jesse Lacey's unforgettable screams of anger. However, Deja promises a much different content. The traditional four-chord rock song has been done over and over and over. So, what did these guys do? They plugged in their amps, tuned their guitars, tightened their drum heads and got right to work..
Usually, when I listen to a song I would say something like "oh that guitar riff sounds like something from this band," or "man, their song progression is repetitive." But no, not for this. It' s undeniable that Brand New has created an album that only comes around once in a blue moon. Why, you may ask?
The way this record began and was presented is so damn good, it's almost scary. Tatou starts out with a simple lead guitar riff and a quiet beat while Jesse, the vocalist, whispers - and yells, at the same time. At the end of this minute-something track, the listener will hear one of the most creative bass lines along with a drum beat that will make you drown into the song itself in Sic Transit... Gloria Fades. It's a song about a desire of a man for a relationship mirrored against the woman's desire for sex alone. This song really does creep up on you because the song is calm until the chorus, where you will hear - also at the very end of the song - one of the most chilly lines ever: "die young and save yourself!" Okay I Believe You, But Tommy Gun Don't begins with, "I am heaven sent / don't you dare forget," which is pretty much the outline of the entire song. It contains very outspoken lines such as "This is the way you wish your voice sounds, handsome and smart / Oh, my tongue's the only muscle in my body that works harder than my heart," and "This is the craze only we can bestow / this is the price you pay for loss of control / this is the break in the ground / this is the closest of calls / this is the reason you're alone / this is the reason you fall!" The record progresses steadily with a sad tale in The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot, a dark side in Me Vs. Maradona Vs. Elvis, and a desire to escape in Good To Know That If I Ever Need Attention All I Have to Do is Die. The record is concluded with a sweet but almost haunting story in Play Crack the Sky, one of the most mature and spine-chilling songs I have ever heard.
Point is, if you just want to hear your heart skip a beat, buy this record. If you don't want to hear your heart skip a beat, buy this record anyway. It is a collection of truths we have never admitted to ourselves because we're scared, but somehow, these eleven tracks seem life-changing. Brand New has created an incredible and unforgettable record, armed with lyrical genius and unique instrumental coordinations. It is appalling, controversial, honest. Deja Entendu may be the French translation of "already heard," but after listening intently to the beautiful stories and musical content of these songs, you can't help but make an argument.
Recommended tracks: Sic Transit... Gloria Fades, Okay I Believe You But Tommy Gun Don't, Guernica, Play Crack the Sky
Recommended for fans of: Taking Back Sunday, Kevin Devine, Circa Survive, fun.
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