DAISY

Audio Mixer: Dave Sardy. Photographer: Vin Accardi. Brand New's ability to jump between quiet textures and grating, full-throttle passages has been the centerpiece of several albums, but the Long Island boys revisit that formula once again with DAISY. The band's fourth LP begins rather formally, as a classical piano plays beneath a female's prim and proper vocals. 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. Yet despite DAISY's familiar tricks, the band's rage is still fairly convincing, and a handful of slower songs hint at what may lie ahead for future albums. "Bed" is quietly sinister, a minor-key ballad more devoted to nuance and suspense than pure aggression, and "You Stole" is downright gorgeous at points, its fuzzy guitars finding some sort of connection between My Bloody Valentine and '50s surf rock. 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 continue to pack a punch.