Spin (11/99, p.193) - 6 out of 10 - "...BRAND NEW YEAR [is] a set of odds and ends from the past few years of their shoulda-been-contenders career....Even if the song remains the same, the Bottle Rockets tell stories you want to hear..."
Q (4/00, p.87) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...[They] clearly have much to offer....being steeped in rock's rich heritage....although vocalist/songwriter Brian Henneman can out-howl the competition, he'll also croon when a song demands it. Good stuff."
The Bottle Rockets: Brian Henneman (vocals, acoustic, electric & 12-string guitars); Tom Parr (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars); Robert Kearns (vocals, mandolin, electric & fretless basses); Mark Ortmann (drums, tambourine, percussion).
Additional personnel: Eric "Roscoe" Ambel (vocals, electric, 12-string, slide, B-bender & baritone guitars, dulcitar, organ); Mary Lee (vocals); Paul Ebersold, Jim Duffy (organ).
Principally recorded at The Studio, Springfield, Missouri in January & February 1999.