I know you all will just ignore this introduction but I ask you to please read and keep in mind. The reason I write these like explanations is because I want you to understand where I am coming from so you can get an idea of my biases. In this case I am not a fan of Brand New and never have been. I don't hate them, I don't think they're bad, just not my cup of tea. I know they have a fervent fan based who are probably already looking to burn me at the stake but aside from a few songs here and there nothing they've done has interested me. So I'm coming into this album not so much as a fan but as someone who may casually listen and who hasn't been anticipating this album. Ok so now let's talk about Science Fiction.
Science Fiction is the first album from Brand New in eight years since their last release, Daisy. There's bands with a shorter lifespan than the amount of time it took for Brand New to release this. They did release a few singles (most of like Mene I really liked) over the years and some previously rare demos but this is the first actual album. If you were expecting them to fit a certain style or sound you would be greatly disappointed. This album is weird in all the right ways. If there's any genre it fits maybe it would be post rock but even that would be too accurate. There's flashes of Pink Floyd, The Pixies, Modest Mouse, and even of themselves.
The album kicks off with this weird recording of a female voice talking about how a patient is going to be recounting a dream with eerie tones in the background then it goes to the patient talking about her dream. It's just really unnerving and while it doesn't seem like it would fit, it actually does. Then it hits with the guitars that sound reminescent of Nirvana's Come As You Are where it sounds like it's almost underwater. The drumming is almost non-existent pretty much just tapping it feels dreamy. Everything is accented with Jesse Lacey's unmistakable droning vocals. There's a nice ebb and flow to everything despite staying in the same tempo the whole time. Can't Get It Out feels almost like it was written during their Deja Entendu days with its surging choruses. Waste comes in with an acoustic guitar and again the droning vocals there's a bit of pickup during the choruses but not quite as much the previous song, it manages to be pretty catchy.
Could Never Be Heaven is a pretty straight forward neo-folk song but it highlights a main issue I have with a lot of Brand New's songs. It feels like they wrote part of a song and then hit copy and paste until they had a full song. It just feels mostly flat and repetitive. In the case of this song it still manages to work on the strength of Lacey's work during those choruses. The best song on the album is Out Of Mana. It kicks things up a bit with a energetic intro leading into the flowing softer verses that are dragged out until you hit the open and loud choruses. Desert is another song that works really well despite being very minimal. One of the things that does help elevate all the songs is the strength of the lyrics. They all tell a story of family, religion, regret, nostalgia, and love.
So what is my verdict? Well if you didn't like Brand New before you probably won't like them because this album and if you were a fan before there's a lot here to like. Honestly I like the album overall. It's not something I'm going to be shouting from the rooftops, it sounds like Brand New meaning everything they do well like deep powerful lyrics, songs that seems to travel well, and setting a mood, are there but so are the bad things like the repetitive and droning sounds especially with the vocals are there as well. I'd say it's worth a listen even if you're not a fan, it's not a bad ride and there might be some songs in there you will like but don't expect for it to change your opinion. If you already like them it's a very solid example of their work. It's different enough to feel fresh and that the eight year wait was worth it, but not so out there that it doesn't sound like Brand New.
The album kicks off with this weird recording of a female voice talking about how a patient is going to be recounting a dream with eerie tones in the background then it goes to the patient talking about her dream. It's just really unnerving and while it doesn't seem like it would fit, it actually does. Then it hits with the guitars that sound reminescent of Nirvana's Come As You Are where it sounds like it's almost underwater. The drumming is almost non-existent pretty much just tapping it feels dreamy. Everything is accented with Jesse Lacey's unmistakable droning vocals. There's a nice ebb and flow to everything despite staying in the same tempo the whole time. Can't Get It Out feels almost like it was written during their Deja Entendu days with its surging choruses. Waste comes in with an acoustic guitar and again the droning vocals there's a bit of pickup during the choruses but not quite as much the previous song, it manages to be pretty catchy.
Could Never Be Heaven is a pretty straight forward neo-folk song but it highlights a main issue I have with a lot of Brand New's songs. It feels like they wrote part of a song and then hit copy and paste until they had a full song. It just feels mostly flat and repetitive. In the case of this song it still manages to work on the strength of Lacey's work during those choruses. The best song on the album is Out Of Mana. It kicks things up a bit with a energetic intro leading into the flowing softer verses that are dragged out until you hit the open and loud choruses. Desert is another song that works really well despite being very minimal. One of the things that does help elevate all the songs is the strength of the lyrics. They all tell a story of family, religion, regret, nostalgia, and love.
So what is my verdict? Well if you didn't like Brand New before you probably won't like them because this album and if you were a fan before there's a lot here to like. Honestly I like the album overall. It's not something I'm going to be shouting from the rooftops, it sounds like Brand New meaning everything they do well like deep powerful lyrics, songs that seems to travel well, and setting a mood, are there but so are the bad things like the repetitive and droning sounds especially with the vocals are there as well. I'd say it's worth a listen even if you're not a fan, it's not a bad ride and there might be some songs in there you will like but don't expect for it to change your opinion. If you already like them it's a very solid example of their work. It's different enough to feel fresh and that the eight year wait was worth it, but not so out there that it doesn't sound like Brand New.