Welcome to the song by song review of Daisy by Brand New.  I addition to describing what I like about each song, I’ll mention which songs have common lyrical motifs and how each song works within the entire album.  Check out the end of the review for my graph representation of the album.

Vices
The album begins with a classic recording of a hymn, one of several religious references on Daisy.  After the hymn the song explodes into screams and keeps it up for the rest of the song.  Its short, blunt, and attention grabbing.  It also contains every motif mentioned earlier; religion, death, forests and fire.  Though it isn’t my favourite song, and it could be intimidating to an uncertain listener, it gets the job done even though it is not indicative of the rest of the album.

Bed
The follow up to Vices changes the tone drastically.  Soft vocals, clear guitar, and much more thoughtful lyrics.  There are some moments that seem odd, like the lyrics about watch a boxing match that segues into relationship regrets.  The fire manages to stay in the lyrics as well.  The song finishes up nicely, with a neat little guitar riff that sounds nothing like older Brand New.

At the Bottom
This song is a fairly good choice as the first single from Daisy.  It does a good job representing the album; dark, mysterious, complicated, and a little screamy.  There are tons of interesting sounds here, even if some of them seem like they are borrowed from an older Our Lady Peace album.  Death and religion dominate this track lyrically.

Gasoline
Gasoline is the first song on the album that really feels like it is rock right from the start.  It has some terrific lyrics as well, involving fire, death and religion, though they aren’t particularly cheery.  It gets even better after the first chorus when the song really starts to step it up a notch, then another, and then one more.  Then it goes quiet, then explodes straight to the end.  Oh wait, it is experimentation time!  Not bad, but I prefer the wild end to Limousine.  Gasoline is quite the roller coaster, especially considering how short it is.

You Stole
This song has a great atmosphere.  The echos of the instruments suit the empty sadness in the lyrics, which are terrific.  Fire is the only album motif that rears its head in this track, but the lyrics are just as stirring as any other.  Between those quieter verses are loud, stomping choruses with wailing guitar, bringing anger and frustration with them.  A really great song, my pick for third best.

Be Gone
Any person listening to Daisy has to judge this one on their own.  I think the guitar is awesome and it goes great with the beat of the drums.  I also enjoy the vocal effects, but that is where opinions will definitely be split.

Sink
Here we go again, back into a harder rock song, right from the start.  More screaming as well, but  Jesse is doing a good job of it.  The first half of the song is good, but if the whole song sounded like that it would probably be forgotten.  Half way through it changes and benefits because of it.  The vocals move up front and center and the lyrics are much more interesting.  They draw you in just in time for the all out ending.  Religion, some death, and imagery using seeds to represent growth all make appearances.

Bought a Bride
This song simply sounds good.  All of the different identities it has, they just all sound good in their different ways.  By this point in the album some might be tired of the screaming, which is too bad because this is probably one of the best examples.  The guitar is cool all the way through and the song is my choice for second best on the album.  Oh yes, there are lyrics about forests.

Daisy
Ahh yes, time for the title track.  This is especially important because no other Brand New album has one.  They definitely picked right, because this is my favourite track on the album.  It starts with a preacher preparing another hymn, this time leading into a quiet song.  The instruments are soft, Jesse’s voice is fragile, and the lyrics are sad.  There is another quick spoken interlude before the song returns with a much louder instrumentation.  The song all of the sudden fills everywhere you can imagine and the lyrics flow more than anything else on the album.  Everything layers and builds until it all gives way to just the guitar trailing off.  This one just feels like everything Brand New does best wrapped up in one terrific song.

In a Jar
The biggest disappointment on the album isn’t this song, but the fact that my least favourite song follows my favourite one.  It serves as a harsh contrast.  Most of my dislike centers around the opening lines and when they reoccur later on.  Some of the lyrics are more interesting, but it is probably the least stirring of the album.  The best part of this song is that it ends very overblown, both vocally and intrumentally.  It is the best part because the abrupt ending sets up the last song perfectly…

Noro
The beginning of this song is so quiet next to “In a Jar”, it does a terrific job emphasizing the barren feeling it starts with.  It is one of the darkest and most frightened sounding parts on the album, lyrics included.  The song really picks up though, right after Lacey declares “I’m on my way to hell…”.  The secondary vocals sound straight out of Marilyn Manson, which isn’t as odd as one might think.  It has an interesting solo as well.  The song is quite different compared to the previous album closers, which were primarily driven by acoustic guitar.  The one thing I didn’t need was for the song to end with the hymn again, which makes putting the album on repeat a little annoying.

1. The Quick Review 2. Song by Song Review

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