Daisy (album)
Encyclopedia
Daisy is the fourth studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...

 by American alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 band Brand New
Brand New
Brand New is an American rock band from Long Island, New York. Formed in 2000, the band currently consists of vocalist/guitarist/lyricist Jesse Lacey, guitarist/vocalist/lyricist Vincent Accardi, bassist Garrett Tierney, drummer Brian Lane, and guitarist/keyboardist Derrick Sherman.In the late...

, released September 22, 2009 on Interscope Records
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:...

.

The album's first single, "At the Bottom," was released at the beginning of August 2009. The band toured the United States in support of the album in late 2009, and toured Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 in early 2010.

Production

The band worked in the studio with Mike Sapone
Mike Sapone
Mike Sapone is an American record producer, audio engineer, and mixer whose credits include producing records for bands such as Brand New, Taking Back Sunday, Envy On The Coast, Straylight Run, Crime in Stereo, Hit the Lights and Public Enemy....

, coming up with many of the albums tracks prior to recording—vocalist/guitarist Jesse Lacey stated in an interview with Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...

that the band members conceive many of their song ideas on acoustic guitar, individually, before working on those ideas as a band during sound checks.

The opening music at the start of "Vices" and closing music at the end of "Noro" is "On Life's Highway," a gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....

 hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...

 written by Bertrand Brown. As Lacey remarked in an interview, "We've always been interested in putting strange things on the albums. We don't do it as much as we would like."

In an interview with Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...

, Jesse Lacey commented on the album's content: "It's a pretty exhausting record. It's quite dense and I think some of the decisions we made don't always go in the most obvious direction. We were thinking a lot more about what we'd want to play when we were up onstage rather than actually what you'd want to hear on a record."

Release and promotion

Brand New revealed in an interview with United Kingdom-based music magazine Rock Sound
Rock Sound
Rock Sound is a British magazine which champions rock music. The magazine aims at being more "underground" and less commercial, whilst also giving coverage to more well known acts.-History:...

that they would not be talking to or promoting Daisy with any American media outlets. They also said they would be dealing with very few outlets internationally. On July 8, 2009, it was reported that the band had named their new album And One Head Can Never Die (typeset as "...and one head can never die") and that it would be released on September 21; not long after, the band announced that the album title had been changed to Daisy. The release of "At the Bottom" as the album's first single was also announced.

Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...

magazine's website announced the track listing and displayed the album art for Daisy in August 2009. The first single from the renamed fourth studio album was released as a digital download on August 11, 2009, without a music video to accompany the release. The album was mixed by Dave Sardy
Dave Sardy
David Sardy is a Brooklyn born-and-raised composer, musician, songwriter, and record producer- Biography :...

 with production by Mike Sapone
Mike Sapone
Mike Sapone is an American record producer, audio engineer, and mixer whose credits include producing records for bands such as Brand New, Taking Back Sunday, Envy On The Coast, Straylight Run, Crime in Stereo, Hit the Lights and Public Enemy....

.

In June 2009, UK music magazine Rock Sound
Rock Sound
Rock Sound is a British magazine which champions rock music. The magazine aims at being more "underground" and less commercial, whilst also giving coverage to more well known acts.-History:...

claimed on their website that they had received a copy of the upcoming album, though it was, according to an image later posted by the editor, "incomplete." The site published a "tentative" track listing and reported the incomplete version that they had received to be roughly 30 minutes long.

On June 28, 2009, the band appeared at the Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...

 on the Other Stage, where they previewed "Bought a Bride" and "Gasoline." These songs were also previewed at the Reading and Leeds Festivals
Reading and Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend, sharing the same bill. The Reading Festival is held at Little John's Farm...

 - with the performances being filmed by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

. The band, however, refused the BBC rights of use, denying the broadcasting of their live performance.

Lacey told Rock Sound that in regard to touring to promote Daisy: "I think we want to be at home more than ever before," with Vinnie Accardi adding: "We have become less ambitious about touring." Despite this, the band will perform a single headlining date at Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena is an indoor arena, at Wembley, in the London Borough of Brent. The building is opposite Wembley Stadium.-History:...

, in January 2010. It will be their largest UK headline appearance to date. To coincide with the release of Daisy, the band will embark on a 34-date tour across the United States throughout all of October and November 2009. The tour will also feature Thrice
Thrice
Thrice is an American rock band from Irvine, California, formed in 1998. The group was founded by guitarist/vocalist Dustin Kensrue and guitarist Teppei Teranishi while they were in high school....

, Manchester Orchestra
Manchester orchestra
Manchester Orchestra is an American indie rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 2005. The group is currently composed of rhythm guitarist-singer-songwriter Andy Hull, lead guitarist Robert McDowell, keyboardist and percussionist Chris Freeman, bassist Jonathan Corley, and drummer Tim Very...

, Glassjaw
Glassjaw
Glassjaw is a four-piece rock band from Long Island, New York. The band is fronted by vocalist Daryl Palumbo and guitarist Justin Beck, and have undergone numerous line-up changes since their inception...

 and Crime In Stereo
Crime In Stereo
Crime in Stereo was a Long Island-based melodic hardcore band. Comparable to Dag Nasty, Brand New, and Lifetime, the band released their debut, a split with New York's Kill Your Idols, in 2003 on hardcore label Blackout! Records...

.

Brooklyn sessions

Over the summer of 2009, the band recorded various tracks from Daisy as well as their three previous albums, with each recording a reworked alternative to the original version. On September 11, 2009, the band's record label Interscope released a video featuring an acoustic, stripped-down version of "Sowing Season (Yeah)" with a small interview. Later, the band posted on their MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....

 page that they were unhappy with the release of these videos, as the recordings were meant to have all been released together as a set: "We hoped that they would all come out as a set, with an explanation of what we did and how we did it. And it would give people insight into what we have been up to. Unfortunately...this did not happen." The videos were filmed in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 by The apk with Daniel Navetta directing and producing. So far "Jesus" featuring Kevin Devine
Kevin Devine
Kevin Devine is an American songwriter and musician from Brooklyn, New York, who is known for alternately introspective and political lyrics and melodic acoustic guitar songs...

 has been released as a video, along with "Sowing Season (Yeah)" and "Bought a Bride." The tracks were mixed by Mike Sapone
Mike Sapone
Mike Sapone is an American record producer, audio engineer, and mixer whose credits include producing records for bands such as Brand New, Taking Back Sunday, Envy On The Coast, Straylight Run, Crime in Stereo, Hit the Lights and Public Enemy....

. "At the Bottom" (Live in the Studio) is exclusive to iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

, as was "Bed" (Live in the Studio) as a pre-order on iTunes only. "Bought a Bride" (Live in the Studio) is exclusive to Amazon.

Reception

Daisy received positive reviews from most music critic
Music criticism
See also Music journalism for reporting on classical and popular music in the media.The Oxford Companion to Music defines music criticism as 'the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres'. In this...

s. At Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...

, which assigns a normalized
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...

 rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...

 score of 75, based on twelve reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Drew Beringer, staff reviewer for AbsolutePunk scored the album at 90%. He summarised in his article; "Brand New has created a record that will leave you exhausted. You’ll be worn out by the jarring tempo changes, confounded by the vague topics, and abused by Lacey’s prominent yell. Producer Mike Sapone does his best to help Brand New reach its darkest point, and Daisy is auditory proof, as this is the Long Island quintet’s most challenging and distinguished album yet. Some will love it, some will hate it, most will be perplexed by it and will need many listens to digest it. But one thing is certain, this is a record that will shake you". Andrew Leahey of Allmusic was less favourable, giving the album a three star rating. He was critical of the song structures by saying, "Drums, screams, and squelching guitars eventually gatecrash the piano recital, but the effect isn't jarring as much as it is familiar, a tell-tale sign of a band not quite ready to ditch its old habits". However, he also praised the experimental moments on the record; "Brand New may not be completely comfortable with the slow stuff, but Daisy's willingness to experiment is what makes the album so interesting, even as its furious rock songs struggle to pack a punch".

Alternative Press writer Scott Heisel was also slightly disappointed while awarding the album three and a half stars. He stated that "[I]t's entirely possible that the band simply wrote a good album this time around, not a great one." Dan Martin of NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...

was highly favourable in his review, describing Daisy as a "breathtakingly accomplished record". He awarded a score of 9/10 and also added that Brand New are now, "the most graceful rock band in America". Rock Sound
Rock Sound
Rock Sound is a British magazine which champions rock music. The magazine aims at being more "underground" and less commercial, whilst also giving coverage to more well known acts.-History:...

also heaped praise upon the album, making comparisons to The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...

, The Smiths
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...

 and Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...

. Chris Hidden described the album as a more refined version of previous album, The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me
The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me
The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me is the third full length album by the alternative rock band Brand New, and their major label debut on Interscope Records. It was released on November 20, 2006 in the United Kingdom, on November 21, 2006 in the United States and Canada, November 25, 2006 in...

. He summarised by stating, "Brand New are now artistically unrivalled by their peers; it would be astonishing if they didn’t see where else they could go". Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

was largely favourable in his review, awarding a 3 and a half star rating. He praised the band for not sticking to genre restraints; "The quartet's fourth album avoids genre commonplaces with subtle shadings. 'You tried to put a fire out, but you used gasoline' — and songs like the heroin-jag slow-burner "Bed" prove that letting rip isn't always Lacey's best move. Mikael Wood, journalist for Spin magazine
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...

awarded the album a eight out of ten rating. He particularly praised the moments of surprise throughout the album. "Jesse Lacey howls about burning in bed and turning to dirt while his bandmates churn out noisy, jagged art-punk riffs that routinely explode without warning. The sound is old-fashioned, but the fury is fresh". Ryan Flatley, staff reviewer for Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic, or simply Sputnik, is a music website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites...

 scored the album with an "excellent" four out of five. In his summary, he claimed, "Brand New have completely evolved from the heartbroken adolescents that brought you Your Favourite Weapon, obliterating that memory with each distorted riff and every coarse scream found within Daisy".

Accolades

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
AbsolutePunk.net
AbsolutePunk.net
AbsolutePunk is a website, online community, and alternative music news source founded by Jason Tate . The website mainly focuses on artists who are relatively unknown to mainstream audiences, but it has been known to feature artists who have eventually achieved crossover success, including Fall...

US Top Thirty Albums of the Year 2009 3
Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...

UK K! Critics' Albums of the Year 2009 11
Rock Sound
Rock Sound
Rock Sound is a British magazine which champions rock music. The magazine aims at being more "underground" and less commercial, whilst also giving coverage to more well known acts.-History:...

UK Top Seventy Five Albums of the Year 2009 14
Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic, or simply Sputnik, is a music website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites...

US Staff Picks: Top Fifty Albums of the Year 2009 28

Track listing

All songs written by Brand New
Brand New
Brand New is an American rock band from Long Island, New York. Formed in 2000, the band currently consists of vocalist/guitarist/lyricist Jesse Lacey, guitarist/vocalist/lyricist Vincent Accardi, bassist Garrett Tierney, drummer Brian Lane, and guitarist/keyboardist Derrick Sherman.In the late...

; lyrics by Vin Accardi and Jesse Lacey
Jesse Lacey
Jesse Thomas Lacey is an American musician from Levittown, New York. He is the frontman of the band Brand New.-Musical career:...

.

Brand New

  • Jesse Lacey – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
    Rhythm guitar
    Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...

    , artwork
    Cover art
    Cover art is the illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book , magazine, comic book, video game , DVD, CD, videotape, or music album. The art has a primarily commercial function, i.e...

    , lyrics
    Lyrics
    Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...

  • Vinnie Accardi – lead guitar
    Lead guitar
    Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...

    , backing vocals, photography
    Photography
    Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...

    , artwork
    Cover art
    Cover art is the illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book , magazine, comic book, video game , DVD, CD, videotape, or music album. The art has a primarily commercial function, i.e...

    , lyrics
    Lyrics
    Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...

  • Garrett Tierney – bass guitar
    Bass guitar
    The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

  • Brian Lane – drums, percussion
  • Derrek Sherman – keyboards
    Keyboardist
    A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...

    , guitar, backing vocals

Production

  • Mike Sapone - producer
    Record producer
    A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

    , engineer
    Audio engineering
    An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...

  • D. Sardy - mixing
    Audio mixing (recorded music)
    In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...

  • Emily Lazar - mastering
    Audio mastering
    Mastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...

  • Joe LaPorta - assistant engineer
  • Jason Noto - artwork
  • Pete Sutherland - cover photo
  • Ariel Martin - A&R
    A&R
    Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...



Chart performance

Chart (2009) Peak
position
US Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

6
UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...

47
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK