Defiance and punk used to go hand in hand, like peanut butter and jelly, or S&M leather wear and pogoing. These days, it seems all the kids have tossed rebellion to the side for the kind of immediate gratification that comes with the latest punk fashion faux pas, malicious moshing, and empty threats to former heads of state.
Thank goodness for Brand New. Some folks may scoff at the thought of the Long Island quartet's raging against the new punk paragon, but whereas some of their former comrades in arms have gone the way of the screamo cliché, Brand New have cut a different path. With Daisy, they have again defied expectations, this time rebelling against those who're holding out for another grunge-flavored curveball like their 2006 outing, The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me.
Although Daisy observes much of the same sonic scenery as Devil and God, they toss some throat-eviscerating growls and odd guitar detours ("Vices"), a restrained version of nü-metal beatmaking ("Daisy"), and even the spare slide-guitar ditty ("In a Jar," "Be Gone") into their vibrant take on third-wave emo. Daisy may lack the immediate accessibility of Brand New's previous efforts, but once it grows on you, good luck getting it out of your head.
