Brand New - 3 Demos, ReWorked

Brand New
3 Demos, Reworked
2016
Spotify

Reviewing this album probably doesn't really go with the spirit of this blog, but because it may be some of the last stuff we hear from Brand New it is more than worth a listen. This EP consists of three songs released earlier this year on the Leaked Demos 2006 record which including songs that were only legend amongst the Brand New faithful. These releases are only stepping stones to the bands confirmed breakup after their current tour with Modest Mouse, which to be honest kinda sucks. The Demos release was great for the fans, but the music did feel dated, like it belonged at the beginning of the emo post-punk era. This however, the reworked version of three of the tracks, are modern and could slide easily in to some of the best of Brand New's catalog. "Missing You" is spastic and violent, but never rageful. It pushes and pushes a level of anxiety complete with a description of Van Gogh cutting off his ear and dying face down in his own blood. "1996" has a much more new wave vibe complete with a synth breakdown but scene through this emo lens that makes it feel different. These two tracks are the ones that hang closest to their originals, changed but still keeping the spirit of the original song intact.

"Brother's Song" however is the one which is the most changed and the one with the deepest emotional impact. The lyrics of course don't change, but the first take on the song is just Jesse Lacey with an acoustic guitar, while the new version is rich and is much closer to the band's Deja Entendu days. It somehow keeps that spark of heart that Lacey is so great at tapping in to but brings the instrumentation to another, better, level. This idea of a band coming to a close rather than just breaking up seems to be a new phenomena (Hot Hot Heat, Motion City Soundtrack) and leaves the door more open for a reunion than the bands of the past. But the real bummer is that some of these reworks and B-Sides that are just coming out are really really great. Brand New's legacy is firmly etched in to the histories of the early 2000s and to see a band that fought for every note they wrote to fade in to obscurity, is sad. This may be the end for Brand New, and maybe a few more EPs will trickle out, but luckily they have given us 16 years of music to hold on to.

7.8 out of 10