BRAND NEW: DEJA ENTENDU (2003)
1) Tautou;
2) Sic Transit Gloria... Glory Fades; 3) I Will Play My Game Beneath The Spin
Light; 4) Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don't; 5) The Quiet Things That
No One Ever Knows; 6) The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot; 7) Jaws Theme Swimming;
8) Me Vs. Maradona Vs. Elvis; 9) Guernica; 10) Good To Know That If I Ever Need
Attention All I Have To Do Is Die; 11) Play Crack The Sky.
Already these guys are getting more serious,
and I am not sure if they deserve such an enthusiastic pat on the back for
this as they did. Yes, it is hard not to notice that on their second album,
Brand New have moved way, way beyond writing about break-ups and are now
writing about... well, about whatever they might have caught on TV the day
before going into the studio, be it an Audrey Tautou movie or a Wes Anderson
movie or a documentary about the shipwreck of the FV Pelican way back in
1951 — all of these subjects and more get faithfully covered on the record, and
this, I guess, makes it more mature and makes their «emo» more substantial.
Unfortunately, the songwriting does not get
improved all by itself just because the covered topics get more serious (or do
they?). The lead single was ʽThe Quiet Things That No One Ever Knowsʼ, a song
about strained relationships (maybe; if you're not sure what any song is about,
write «strained relationships» and you have a 70% probability of getting it
right) with lots of metaphorical hospitals-and-blood imagery (and an
appropriate video) but also with a very generic alt-rock melody that mostly
rests either on power chords or on metronomically chugging guitars — and plenty
of screaming, of course (not very quiet). I guess it is still much better than
the average generic emo song — this one at least seems meticulously thought
over — but no pop genius is in evidence, and the chorus just sucks.
The second single was ʽSic Transit Gloria...ʼ,
and it at least has a cool-walking bassline that might remind you of ʽThe Guns
Of Brixtonʼ, but the screamy chorus still ends up ruining it. Again I have no
idea what the lyrics are about (seems to be at least partially about sex, which
covers the 29,99% ground of the remaining probabilities), but I totally feel
that the verses, where the vocals are «side-tracked» to the left and to the
right of the cool-walking bassline and set up at least some sort of tense mood,
deserve a much better, or at least more subtle chorus. As it is, it is hard to
get moved when they start raving without any visible reasons whatsoever.
Amazingly, the best song on the album is also
its longest — with this predictable formula of hookless guitar pop and
meaningless screaming so firmly in place, you wouldn't think that Brand New
could be at their best when trying to craft a lengthy epic, but they are: ʽGood
To Know
That If I Ever Need Attention, All I Have To Do Is Dieʼ is not only a funny
title, but it also has a loud power pop rather than «screamo» chorus, and a couple
of lengthy instrumental passages where Vincent Accardi shows off some nice
chops (as well as a ʽHotel Californiaʼ fetish). I feel like most reviewers give
up way before the end, so the song rarely, if ever, gets a mention, but it is
the most interesting composition on this tiresome record — certainly better
than whenever they break out the acoustic guitars and begin to sound like
R.E.M. on speed (ʽPlay Crack The Skyʼ).
I know it's just the
regular emo formula and all, but the music here is largely generic, and so is Jesse's
singing — even with a formula in place, one could hope for more involving guitar riffs or catchier
choruses. As it is, I doubt that Déjà Entendu, although it
achieved some commercial success and got all those positive reviews, will ever
get past the original adoration of those young adolescents with which these
songs resonated in 2003, just because those guys were young and fresh as
well. I find this record just as devoid of musical interest as its predecessor,
but more pretentious, so a thumbs down
is the proper way to go about this.
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