Review – Disaesthetic

All The Songs Were About You

I’ve intentionally waited since Brand New returned. A lot happened during a few hours and days when new music leaked online. Five hundred limited edition vinyl pre-orders for an untitled Brand New album put the music community on its backside. Those lucky enough to make the purchase received a CD in the mail folded in brown paper with a black and white image of the band. Could’ve easily been mistaken for a Godspeed! album or a deranged manifesto with anthrax sealed within. The music was promptly ripped and put online to manifest plagues of theories and discoveries. Science Fiction came to be by the fanatic curiosity of fans and the band’s own admission. Let’s cut the conspiracies though. Brand New intentionally waited for this moment, for years.

This was an organized coup to grasp the attention of the world for a brief moment. They’ve watched others do it over the last few years. Beyoncé in late 2013 ambushed everyone after quietly working her self-titled album for a year. She hit everyone with her best work to date. I can say the same for Brand New. It’s their best work since 2006’s The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me. I’m sure same disagree but Daisy might as well not exist to me. Perhaps it’s a sign to retry it again. Then again I’ve said that since it’s release. Some opinions are set in stone, but I wanted to make sure I gave Science Fiction time to solidify rather than ejaculating with first impressions.

Self-revival, wise, reinvention, and “debatably the band’s greatest album” will take life on the internet forever. Science Fiction exists as a great sequel, think Clerks 2, about who Brand New was last decade, influencing alternative rock forever, and who they are now. Rather than just make another record during the height of their financial success they’ve constructed a great album that pays homage to the past but still offers well written and diverse songs that can easily hold you for an hour.

The opening dialog on “Lit Me Up” between a therapist and patient sets the leitmotif for the entire album. The whole experience sounds like therapy sessions mixed in with some reverence of the past. “Can’t Get It Out” takes you back to Deja Entendu. “Waste” and “Could Never Be Heaven” sound like they came from The Devil and God sessions. Many of these songs refer nostalgically to The Devil and God. Obviously that’s a good sonance to possess however I’m critical of emulating an album from over ten years ago, no matter how fantastic it was then and influencial it remains now.

At the same time I have to praise their sentimentality not simply because we’re fortunate to have new music but it’s simply enjoyable. It’s a full canvas, not just a single or two with some filler tracks. This era of musicians focus on building one incredible song rather than a rich experience of pressing play and letting go for a while.

“Out of Mana” counters my critique earlier with the best moments of Science Fiction. It has elements of Deja, Devil and God, and Daisy while presenting a new unheard edge from the band. More rock than reservation. There’s optimism rather than gloom. In this period of my life, and perhaps their’s too, I’m looking for a positive outlook rather than the nihilism of my youth. Most of these bands I came to love in my teens aged appropriately with me. Reminds me of Japandroid’s album this year.

From “In The Water” through spectacular anthem “Batter Up” finishes the record stronger from where it started. Immediately I wouldn’t call it Brand New’s best work; however, I expect it to age just as well as the rest of their catalog. Many bands fail to make respectable music after a long hiatus. I hope Science Fiction bridges us from their last incarnation to the next one.

Tired & Bored

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They’ve been around for years, but six releases in Us and US Only have their first full length record Full Flower. I found them in 2011 when Andrew, Jake, and I ran our little music blog. During that time we were falling all over ourselves discovering the Baltimore music scene. We wrote several pieces about it. One of those treasures Us and Us Only had just come out with their Rapture single. Tumblr, of course, spread the art cover rather than music. A common practice then and likely now.

Most of the Baltimore bands were loud, noisy, or ultra heavy but they sounded like Pompeii or The World is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die. It’s the kind of sound I like to fill my apartment living room with. It’s not too loud but has those moments we’re on the edge of being resounding and suddenly we’re going to some far off place at the edge of earth. It’s the same feeling a get when I travel anywhere that’s miles away from my and everyone’s bullshit. US & Us Only sound like sitting on the shinkansen peacefully waiting to get somewhere or looking down at some beautiful overview while drinking a cold one and smoking a cigarette. They’re that hipster band you just kind of fall in love with and keep for your hipster self.

The record flows like two movements. Every song moves into the next smoothly. The transitions aren’t immediately like Mew’s And the Glass Handed Kites but it’s easy to put on track one and realize track six feels like the end of the first song. That’s high complement for a time where most records don’t feel like records. They’re just a bunch of songs along with hopefully a single. Full Flower has at least 3 singles but all the songs work together. It’s one of the few new records I’ve bought on vinyl.

“Kno” and “Bored of Black” hymns themes of fatigue with relationships and consistent mentions of boredom and weariness. They represent the first half of the album well. There’s also a deliberate approach to steadily filling a room with sound. Never too much at once and I never feel like it’s too immediate. When the chorus comes in on “Bored of Black” I’m ready to join in or move my body. “My Mouth” quietly builds up to a teetering point releasing full distortion and restraint. I never feel there’s even a build up or drop with these songs. Every moment sounds natural and instinctive.

“Full Flower” has the same on the cusp of breaking moments too. The post-chorus mesmer makes you fall out, wake up to the reprisal of the chorus, and flawlessly transition into “Lawn” which got by me the first time. “Dresses” relents from caution a third way through. A brief loose semblance. Closing out, “Winter Sails” was the very first single for the band in 2010. It’s stripped down, quiet, and fits as a last call for a magnificent debut.

Willful and Young

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Just last year I got to see Japandroids for the first time at The Echo. They had not played in America for over three years. Show was sold out and I made a day of it Los Angeles before seeing them. It was a special day.

That night I got see, hear, experience new music from the band. Even then I felt some of the criticism I’ve read in the media.

“Near to the Wild Heart of Life” was the third song of the set and first time they ever played it in America. My first thoughts were “Bruce Springsteen?” They always seemed like the kind of band that came from the same place as Springsteen.

Dive bars, cheap beer, cigarettes, and leather jackets personify what I like about the band. Springsteen came from this place too but started breaking away from that on Born to Run, and then completely departed on Born in the U.S.A. Now Japandroids have followed this trajectory. I think what the media has missed however is that this is natural and the music is still compelling.

They can’t be that small club band forever. Their popularity has grown too large. These new songs fit a festival better than The Echo, where I saw them. I had to hear the title track a few times to understand what they were going for. Singer/guitarist Brian King moved from his hometown of Vancouver to Toronto. King borrowed the title from authors Claurice Lispector and James Joyce.

Near to the Wild Heart of Life represents leaving adolescence beyond and moving forward with our own individuality and independence. Boyhood is over. We’re in our adulthood now. Speaking for myself I want the responsibility.

After a few listen now, the album and title track reminds me of my own personal growth over the last 12 months. Most of the record intimates coming of age.

It’s drastically different from Celebration Rock or Post-Nothing in respect its theme. You can’t sing about PBR’s and singing with your bros forever. Eventually you leave and try creating your own legacy. I think Wild Heart acknowledges these changes and it’s reflected in the pace, energy, and even the arrangement of the music.

While the title track was an exodus, “No Known Drink or Drug” debuted right after and defused any doubt about of regression. Audience members started rustling around, pogoing with arms around each other. It was a celebration.

They only play three chords on the song and that’s a testament to who Japandroids are. It’s just two men, a guitar, and drums. All they needed was the previous two sentences.

Most of this album sounds very Americana, think Springsteen and John Mellencamp. Seasoned, aged, marinated well. Wild Heart was written and recorded between 2014-2015. Five weeks was spent in New Orleans writing most of the songs.

“North East South West” makes this context obvious. Sounds like they even took a field trip to Mellencamp’s home in the Midwest. Lyrically there’s clearly an affection for the fun they’ve had in America. “True Love and a Free Life of Free Will” has the same elements with more bombastic marching drums and sing alongs for large audiences.

I’ve read wide ranging debate about “Arc of Bar” and how it fits within Japandroid’s catalog. Like the title track it was odd seeing it live. It stands out with synthesizers throughout the track, which I haven’t heard from them before. Comparing its arrangement to other songs though one would find it’s classic form for them with a new layer of sounds to the canvas.

Wild Heart comparatively has a lot of differences the other records. I think most critics are tripping over themselves to harp on this idea. It’s a strength, not a weakness or as Pitchfork would have you believe a wobbling Janga tower.

Admittedly I was unsure how I felt about these tracks the night I saw them in LA. With each listen Near to the Wild Heart of Life sticks. It’s one of those records that doesn’t do much when it’s first released but grows reputation and acclaim over the years.

Spend time with it. Put the needle down and let go. Each track audibly has tremendous care taken to compose songs one will remember and look forward to hearing. I get see them again in March I expect to connect even more with this LP.

Below you can find some images I took of the special edition vinyl I grabbed last weekend from Lou’s Records.