When I consider what my favorite song is from Science Fiction – the only album Brand New released in the past decade – it always comes down to the same five songs, and an argument could be made for each one equally as well. For the longest time I thought it’d be “Lit Me Up”, the slow burning crooner that depicts religious extremism and eerily foreshadows the demise of Jesse’s career. “137” is always in the conversation for its nuclear holocaust theme and a guitar solo that rivals any other in the group’s discography, save for perhaps the untouchable apex of “Limousine.” “Can’t Get It Out” is the song from this album I listen to the most simply because it’s so damn infectious. “Same Logic/Teeth” combines everything I love about Brand New into one song, from the gritty screams to the pristine acoustic picking that meshes with it surprisingly well. The album is an embarrassment of riches, but I have to go with my first love – the band’s epic, sprawling swan song.
“In The Water” feels like The Moon & Antarctica meets The Dark Side of the Moon. It basks in its glistening, crystalline guitar work that shimmers like the surface of a lake on a hot summer afternoon. The guitar licks in the beginning of the track almost feel old-western; a country-ish vibe emanating from each elongated slide. There are two equally as beautiful choruses, the first “never had it any other way” and the second, “I can’t think it enough.” The guitar solo late in the song isn’t anything overly complex, but it is perfectly placed and bleeds with sheer passion – it just feels like an emotional goodbye. The spoken outro rewards longtime fans with a spine-tingling throwback to Daisy. In the right setting, this could be the greatest Brand New song of all time.
Whereas other songs from Science Fiction select an approach and master it, “In The Water” combines everything into a gorgeously swirling vortex of memories. It’s the sound of a band with a lot of pride tying its loose ends together one final time; expressing contentment with what their life has bestowed upon them as well as regret over how they handled such success. Stemming from an album where just about any song could be celebrated as a milestone, this is the one that I’ll be remembering twenty years from now. It’s a masterpiece…and I can’t say it or think it enough.
