Brand New

Mene [Digital Single] (2015)

Tori Pederson

“We don’t feel anything!” is the new “Die Young and Save Yourself!”

Brand New have finally returned with “Mene,” their first new material in six years (twice the group’s usual album cycle.) Each of Brand New’s four albums has is its own sound, its own character, but for the first time ever, the Long Island band have written a track that feels like a greatest hits compilation of everything they’ve done before, and while that style songwriting can easily go south, the results are surprisingly awesome.

“Mene” has the fast tempos of Your Favorite Weapon (in fact it might be their speediest track to date), the spoken word vocals from Deja Entendu‘s “Sic Transit Gloria… Glory Fades,” the dramatic scope of The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me, and the harsh feedback and throat-shredding screams of Daisy, all within less than two and a half minutes.

The track opens with an almost thrash metal-tempo drum roll from Brian Lane and soon settles into a moody but catchy post-punk groove. Jesse Lacey uses his full vocal range here. The screams from Daisy tracks like “Vices" are present, as is his melodic singing voice, and some dramatic spoken word. Vincent Accardi’s backing vocals are also excellent, as always.

Brand New’s lyrics have always been able to convey both complex, personal issues, as well as slogans that sound good in singalongs at live shows. “Mene” has both. Sample lyric: “The ocean never sleeps or dreams, It never stops to ponder what it sees. Committed to its satellite, no one can move you man and no one’s ever going to try.” The entirety of the chorus? “We don’t feel anything!”

It’s great to have this band back making music. While we obviously don’t have a full-length to make an accurate judgement on yet, “Mene” doesn’t appear to represent as big of a stylistic leap as the group are accustomed to taking between album cycles, but it’s a fantastic song that will only leaves Brand New fans wanting more.