Brand New - Deja Entendu (2003)This was obviously a record I wanted to hate. Back in the days before the internet really caught on, Brand New experienced a relatively mainstream rise to "fame" within the scene, getting several spins on TV and radio for "The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows" and "Sic Transit Gloria". For some reason that rubbed me the wrong way because I didn't discover them organically like most of my other music, so I passed it off as overrated and went on my way.
The ironic part is that because I was hearing them everywhere on TV and radio, it started to click. I started piecing things together, then downloading "The Quiet Things" after enough repetition had it in my head for days on end. I had several friends who were trying to talk me into this band and I really liked the video for "Sic Transit" so I downloaded that too. Eventually I gave in and purchased the whole record, slowly working it into my life, clips for the tv announcements and mixtapes.
Aside from my original hesitation, this is an exceptional record. Maybe I just felt because it got so popular so fast, it was too easy? Yet it wasn't. It was as complicated and dark as I'd imagine Jesse Lacey is and plays out as a stream of consciousness of a clearly off-kilter guy. But from some of the biggest crazies comes some of the best lyrics, and I can say that Jesse is probably one of my all-time favorite lyricists, which is saying a lot. How can you top, "wasting words on lower cases and capitals", "one hundred foot faces of God's good ocean gone wrong" and "you laugh at every word trying hard to be cute, I almost feel sorry for what I'm going to do." ??? There's a fine line in emo music for being too optimistic or too dramatic and Brand New teeters on that line, not saying things for shock value or exaggeration, but simply making honest observations of just how dark humans can be.
And the music is brilliant, right? "Jaws Theme Swimming" has one of my all-time favorite opening riffs.
If I were in a band, I'd listen to Deja Entendu and wonder if I could ever top a record like this. Or even just a song like "Play Crack the Sky". . . to be honest, not even Brand New has . . . yet.
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