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Rating: The 2003 is quite an important year for Brand New. The band from Long Island follows up their debut "Your Favourite Weapon" with the album that will officially catapult them among the brightest stars in the American indie and emocore scene: I'm talking about "Deja Entendu."
After the intro Tatou, with its very reflective, understated, and atmospheric tones, the album kicks off with a bang with Sic Transit Gloria... Glory Fades. The track is masterfully driven by the bass, which outlines a simple yet effective and recognizable rhythmic line. This melodic line then creates a certain sense of tension, which culminates in the quick chorus where the guitars explode and intertwine perfectly with Jesse Lacey's tense and vibrant vocals. Moving through to the third track, I Will Play My Game Beneath The Spin Light (which indeed feels a bit like deja entendu, already heard, though it's not to be dismissed at all, quite the contrary!), we arrive at another interesting piece, Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don't. The song, calm and tranquil for at least a couple of minutes, with only a guitar arpeggio as the main backbone, then evolves into a rhythmic piece that grabs you and takes you along, only to stick in your head. The bass break towards the four-minute mark, preceding the return of the chorus, is very well-suited.
Next, The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows excellently highlights the good vocal characteristics and expressiveness of the singer. In itself, the track alternates between ballad moments and more rhythmic ones, with the now established "calm - sound explosion" structure that provides a solid base for development. The gentle The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot is an ideal bridge to Jaws Theme Swimming. The track, in my opinion, is not very incisive, although well-structured; it is another ideal blend between driving bass/drums and distorted guitars in the melodic explosions of the chorus.
Then we arrive at three other excellent tracks, the first of which is Me Vs Maradona Vs Elvis. The track is misleading as it may seem like a semi-acoustic ballad, characterized by only a guitar arpeggio and the often whispered voice of the singer (a variation Lacey often resorts to); around the middle of the third minute, however, it grows in intensity and emotion, with the extensive deployment of distorted guitars at this point. The subsequent Guernica is no less. Definitely the second most energetic track of the entire album, it follows the canonical backbone of the bass-drum axis and evolves through continuous energetic and fast sound explosions, culminating with the singer's scream vocals (perhaps the only time on the album he goes that far). The penultimate Good to Know That if I Ever Need Attention All I Have to Do Is Die is again a piece emotionally rich in ideas. The structure of the song is always the same, but don't be fooled: although the track turns out to be the longest of all, it does not bore the listener, instead cradling them through sweet melodies and then shaking them (truth be told, most of the time) with effective electric bursts. With the concluding (and this time truly acoustic) Play Crack In The Sky, the album comes to its end. Perhaps this is the track that impressed me the least (at least from a purely sonic point of view), but perhaps it was necessary to end the album with something softer and sweeter.
In conclusion, I feel more than comfortable stating that this work by Brand New will surely be appreciated not only by emocore music lovers but also by all those who appreciate original and fresh albums. "Deja Entendu" is really very well made and curated in all aspects, from the production to the quality of the lyrics (in some cases very significant, melancholic, and at times dark, just like the band's music itself), and I am sure that it will captivate you with each listen more and more.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Tautou (01:42)
I'm sinkin' like a stone in the sea
I'm burning like a bridge from your body
I'm sinkin' like a stone in the sea
I'm burning like a bridge from your body
I'm sinkin' like a stone in the sea
I'm burning like a bridge from your body
02 Sic transit gloria... Glory Fades (03:06)
Keep the noise low, she doesn't wanna blow it
Shaking head to toe while your left hand does the show me around
Quickens your heartbeat
It beats me straight into the ground
You don't recover from a night like this
A victim, still lying in bed, completely motionless
A hand moves in the dark to a zipper
Hear a boy dressed in tourniquet sheets
Barely whisper, "This is so messed up"
Upon arrival the guests had all stared
Dripping wet and clearly depressed, he'd headed straight for the stairs
No longer cool, but a boy in a stitch
Unprepared for a life full of lies and failing relationships
(Up the stairs, the station where the act becomes the art of growing up)
He keeps his hands low
He doesn't wanna blow it
He's wet from head to toe and his eyes give her the up and the down
His stomach turns and he thinks of throwing up
But the body on the bed beckons forward and he starts growing up
The fever, the focus
The reasons that I had to believe you weren't too hard to sell
Die young and save yourself
The tickle, the taste of
It used to be the reason I breathed, but now it's choking me up
Die young and save yourself
She hits the lights
This doesn't seem quite fair
Despite everything he learned from his friends, he doesn't feel so prepared
She's breathing quiet and smooth
He's gasping for air
"This is the first and last time," he says
She fakes a smile and presses her hips into his
He keeps his hands pinned down at his sides
He's holding back from telling her exactly what it really feels like
He is the lamb, she is the slaughter
She's moving way too fast and all he wanted was to hold her
Nothing that he tells her's really having an effect
He whispers that he loves her but she's probably only looking for s-
(Up the stairs, the station where the act becomes the art of growing up)
So much more than he could ever give
A life full of lies and a meaningful relationship
He keeps his hands pinned down at his sides
He waits for it to end and for the aching in his guts to subside
The fever, the focus
The reasons that I had to believe you weren't too hard to sell
Die young and save yourself
The tickle, the taste of
It used to be the reason O breathed, but now it's choking me up
Die young and save yourself
Up the stairs, the station where the act becomes the art of growing up
The fever, the focus
The reasons that I had to believe you weren't too hard to sell
Die young and save yourself
The tickle, the taste of
It used to be the reason I breathed, but now it's choking me up
Die young and save yourself
03 I Will Play My Game Beneath the Spin Light (03:57)
The time has come for colds and overcoats.
We're quiet on the ride, we're all just waiting to get home
Another week away, my greatest fear
I need the smell of summer, I need its noises in my ears
If looks could really kill, then my profession would staring
Know we do this cause we care and not for the thrill
Collect calls to home to tell them that I realize
That everyone who lives will someday die and die alone
And we won't let you in though we're down and out
We won't let you in
You win
I wrote more postcards than hooks, I read more maps than books
Feel like every chance to leave is another chance I should have took
Every minute is a mile. I've never felt so hollow
I'm an old abandoned church with broken pews and empty aisles
My secrets for a buck, watch me as I cut myself wide open on this stage
Yes, I am paid to spill my guts
I won't see home till spring, oh, I would kill for the Atlantic
But I am paid to make girls panic while I sing
And we won't let you in though we're down and out
We won't let you in
And we won't let you in, we don't want what isn't ours
We won't let you in
You win
And the coastline is quiet
While we're quietly losing control
Yes, we're silent but sure we inventened the cure
That will wash out my memories of her
"The harpoon is loaded. The cage is lowered
The water is red," like you
And we won't let you in though we're down and out
We won't let you in
And we won't let you in, we don't want what isn't ours
We won't let you in
You win
04 Okay I Believe You, but My Tommy Gun Don't (05:35)
I'm heaven sent, don't you dare forget
I am all you've ever wanted
What all the other boys all promised
Sorry I told, I just needed you to know
I think in decimals and dollars
I am the cause to all your problems
Shelter from cold, we're never alone
Coordinate brain and mouth
Then ask me what its like to have myself so figured out
I wish I knew
I hope this song starts a craze
The kind of song that ignites the airways
The kind of song that makes people glad to be where they are
With whoever they're there with
This is war
Every line is about who I don't want to write about anymore
Hope you come down with something they can't diagnose
Don't have the cure for
Holding on to your grudge
Oh it's so hard to have someone to love
And keeping quiet is hard
'Cause you can't keep a secret if it was never was a secret to start
At least pretend you didn't want to get caught
We're concentrating on falling apart
We were contenders, now we're throwing the fight
I just want to believe
I just want to believe
I just want to believe
Oh we're so c-c-c-c-c-controversial
We are entirely smooth
We admit to the truth, we are the best at what we do
And these are the words you wish you wrote down
This is the way you wish your voice sounds
Handsome and smart
Oh my tongue's the only muscle on my body that works harder than my heart
And it's all from watching TV
And from speeding up my breathing
I wouldn't stop if I could, oh it hurts to be this good
Holding on to your grudge
Oh it hurts to always have to be honest with the one that you love
Oh so let it go
We're concentrating on falling apart
We were contenders, now we're throwing the fight
I just want to believe
I just want to believe
I just want to believe
We're concentrating on falling apart
We were contenders, now we're throwing the fight
I just want to believe
I just want to believe
I just want to believe
This is the grace only we can bestow
This is the price you pay for loss of control
This is the break in the bend
This is closest of calls
This is the reason you're alone
This is the rise and the fall
We're concentrating on falling apart
We were contenders, now we're throwing the fight
I just want to believe
I just want to believe
I just want to believe
We're concentrating on falling apart
We were contenders, now we're throwing the fight
I just want to believe
I just want to believe
I just want to believe
08 Me vs. Maradona vs. Elvis (05:19)
With one or two I get used to the room
We go slow when we first make our moves
But five or six bring you out to the car
Number nine with my head on the bar
And it's sad, but true. Out of cash and I.O.U's
I've got desperate desires and unadmirable plans
My tongue will taste the gin and malicious intent
Bring you back to the bar. Get you out of the cold
A sober straight face gets you out of your clothes
And they're scared that we know all the crimes they'll commit
Who they'll kiss before they get home
I will lie awake
Lie for fun and fake the way I hold you
Let you fall for every empty word I say
Barely conscious in the door where you stand
Your eyes are fighting sleep while your mouth makes your demands
You laugh at every word, trying hard to be cute
I almost feel sorry for what I'm gonna do
And your hair smells of smoke
Who will cast the first stone?
You can sin or spend the night all alone
Brass buttons on your coat hold the cold
In the shape of a heart that they cut out of stone
You're using all your looks that you've thrown from the start
If you let me have my way, I swear I'll tear you apart
'Cause it's all you can be
You're a drunk and you're scared
It's ladies night, all the girls drink for free
I will lie awake
Lie for fun and fake the way I hold you
Let you fall for every empty word I say
I will lie awake
Lie for fun and fake the way I hold you
Let you fall for every empty word I say
09 Guernica (03:23)
Ever since I was young
Your word is the word that always won
Worry and wake the ones you love
A phone call I'd rather not receive
Please use my body while I sleep
My lungs are fresh and yours to keep
Kept clean and they will let you breathe
Is this the way a toy feels when its batteries run dry?
I am the watch you always wear but you forget to wind
Nobody plans to be half a world away at times like these
So I sat alone and waited out the night
The best part of what has happened was
The part I must have missed
So I'm asking you to shine it on and stick around
I'm not writing my goodbyes
I submit no excuse
If this is what I have to do
I owe you every day I wake
If I could I would shrink myself
Sink through your skin to your blood cell
Remove whatever makes you hurt
But I am too weak to be your cure
Is this the way a toy feels when its batteries run dry?
I am the watch you always wear but you forget to wind
Nobody plans to be half a world away at times like these
So I sat alone and waited out the night
The best part of what has happened was
The part I must have missed
So I'm asking you to shine it on and stick around
I'm not writing my goodbyes
I'm not letting you check out
You will beat this starting now
And you will always be around
I'm there to monitor your breathing
I will watch you while you're sleeping
I will keep you safe and sound
Does anybody remember back when you were very young?
Did you ever think that you would be this blessed?
Nobody plans to be half a world away at times like these
So I sat alone and waited out the night
The best part of what has happened was
The part I must have missed
So I'm asking you to shine it on and stick around
I'm not writing my goodbyes
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Other reviews
By Taurus
"Brand New's sound is dreamy mood, often and willingly veiled by a strong underlying sense of melancholy, capable of surfacing repressed memories in the listener’s mind."
"Deja Entendu changes direction, moving towards a less vigorous and carefree sound, but one that is more deep and refined, achieving what can rightfully be called the album of maturity."
