If I said album of the year would you hold it against me? In short ‘Deja Entendu’ is simply one of the greatest records I have ever heard. It’s a modern masterpiece, a record that not only rocks but is innovative and inspiring, an album that words cannot do justice because it is simply that good. There isn’t one single breath on this record that is a letdown. Having heard people hype up this record beyond any other you may be sceptical to believe them. Rest assured this is every bit as good and quite possibly even better.
Whereas ‘Your Favourite Weapon‘ was merely a fantastic record that took post-hardcore stylings and mixed them up with a poppier edge, ‘Deja Entendu’ rips up the genre rulebook and makes Brand New into the pioneers of their own inimitable style. This record not only compares with those of their peers, it shits all over them from a great height. Both musically and lyrically this is astonishing, from the atmospheric ‘Tautou’ to the up-tempo ‘Sic Transit Gloria – Gloria Fades’ to the amazing ‘Okay I Believe You But My Tommy Gun Don’t’ this is simply a work of art making it’s author Jesse Lacey a genius. It’s an album everyone that likes music should own. It’s not punk, it’s not emo, it’s not rock. It’s just brilliant, brilliant music.
Anyone who has already heard or seen Brand New will know that the Long Island foursome are quite clever with their words and they know how to write a natty hook. ‘Deja Entendu’ not only takes these to the next level, but in Spinal Tap style takes it to 11. The faint ‘Tautou’ is a surprising way to start the record with Jesse’s whispery vocals meandering over an arty guitar line and repetitive drum, but in the context of the whole album it works a treat. It rolls into ‘Sic Transit Gloria – Glory Fades’ possibly the only song that would fit on its predecessor. It’s clever, has a massive singalong hook and sticks out like a sore thumb in its obviousness. When you carry this record on it’s easy to note that disposable pop songs are not Brand New‘s forte anymore. What you get is a record that needs listening to, a record that you get more from every time you listen to. ‘I Will Play My Game Beneath The Spin Light’ will be the first single, a track which starts with a lightly strummed guitar before breaking the shackles and rocking out. It’s a track which showcases Jesse’s writing style, as detailed and poetic as anyone out there.
But it’s the sublime ‘Okay I Believe You But My Tommy Gun Don’t’ that is easily my favourite song of the year so far. Any song that starts with “I’m heaven sent and don’t you dare forget” gets the thumbs up in my book. It’s a song so weak and fragile that it’s almost impossible to believe the swagger the lyrics contain, beautifully bittersweet in their delivery. “I hope this song starts a craze, the kind of song that ignites the airwaves, the kind of song that makes people glad to be where they are, with whoever they’re there with” – a lyric that encapsulates ‘Deja Entendu’ perfectly. If I could take just one lyric that sums up this record it would be that single one because it’s that kind of record. ‘Do you remember where you were when you heard the album for the first time?’ At the same time the lyrics do have that aggressive side that the band hinted at on tracks like ‘Seventy Times 7’, with “I hope you come down with somthing they can’t diagnose or have the cure for” another awesome example. If I could take one song off this record above any other, it would be this.
‘The Quiet Things That No-one Ever Knows’ is more of a straight-up rock song, anthemic in style, while ‘The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot’ is again acoustic and lighters-in-the-air until drummer Brian Lane kicks in. Again it’s so vivid lyrically you just cannot help but be sucked in and fall for Brand New‘s charms. The contageous ‘Jaws Theme Swimming’ and ‘Me vs Maradona vs Elvis’ are simply astonishing, from the musicianship to the lyrical genius that makes this a record I cannot help but fall for. ‘Guernica’ is such a beautiful song that I fell in love with it the second I heard it. Jesse re-tells the story of his dying grandfather so vividly that it’s actually a real tearjearker, containing possibly the best line I’ve ever heard – “Is this the way a toy feels when its batteries run dry?”. Having lost my own grandfather in similar circumstances, not being able to say goodbye because I was too far away, this is the song I only wish I could have been able to write. The final two tracks don’t let up either with ‘Good To Know That If I Ever Need Attention All I Have To Do Is Die’ and ‘Play Crack The Sky’ being two gorgeous masterpieces. The latter, a tender acoustic track, showcases that Brand New can rock out and tug at the heartstrings in equal measure.
This record is one of the most important of the century so far. It’s a record that will inspire people to start bands, a record that will inspire people to write and a record that will inspire people to open up and be their own person. It has an innocent swagger that gives an undercurrent of self confidence, whilst forever sounding brittle and fragile. ‘Deja Entendu’ is an album that sets the standard for all those bands to better and I doubt any will this year. It’s an album that we will hear again in many guises over the next 18 months as bands look to write their own version, but will fall by the wayside. If you only buy one record all year, buy this one. It is, quite simply, amazing.
www.brandnewrock.com
Paul