dBmagazine.com.au

CDs:
· Brand New
(We liked it and you will too!)

· Anata
· The Autumn Defense
· Barenaked Ladies
· June Carter Cash
· Descendents
· George
· Insision
· Lambchop
· Nihilism
· Pluto
· Rephlexions
· Martin Solveig
· The Special Goodness

Live:
· A Perfect Circle
· David Bowie
· Ani Difranco
· Mid Youth Crisis
· The Sleepy Jackson

Brand New
Deja Entendu
Below Par/Eleven/EMI

Soon to grace our shores with Blink-182 on a tour that's sure to make our heads explode, Brand New's second album 'Deja Entendu' (those who paid attention in French class will tell you that means "heard it before") is in a word: surprising. Here we are expecting a fast-paced rehash of their incredible debut 'Your Favourite Weapon', and instead find a much more mature band, willing to slow the music down, experiment with different sounds and actually bare their souls beyond their typical boy-meets-girl lyrics. But the good news is that it works. Despite some interesting song titles that will definitely mess up your play lists (although you've got to love the 'Home Alone' reference of Okay I Believe You But My Tommy Gun Don't) 'Deja Entendu' features some of the band's best work to date. Perhaps this new sound has evolved with the help of the album's producer Steven Haigler, whose resume boasts duties for a range of groups such as The Pixies, Muse and REM.

The album slowly starts off with Tautou, which perfectly introduces us to the album's sombre themes before suddenly launching into Sec Transit Gloria... Glory Fades, which mixes the newer sound with a burst of familiar energy in the chorus. In contrast, I Will Play My Game Beneath The Spin Light features strong acoustic verses, as does another of the album's better tracks, The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot which sounds more like a British indie band than an American outfit. Me Vs Maradona Vs Elvis will also be a shock for long time fans, but there's no denying the band's ability to engage the listener with amazing lyrics and layered vocals. Good To Know That If I Ever Need Attention All I Have To Do Is Die definitely stands out due to its layers of guitars and thumping bass line, sounding somewhat like Muse with a little more attitude and a less whiney singer.

All up, this almost faultless album is one of the best things I've picked up in a while and the band's entirely different approach to their new material should make for a very interesting live set. Perhaps listeners who really liked Brand New's sound on the last album aren't going to be happy with the band's evolution; but you can't please everybody, right?

Ryan Smith

The latest issue
available now!