Brand New - The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me

I am waiting to listen to this album so I’ll report back with a grade soon. Their single Jesus was what won me over. For now, sit back and listen as I give you a lesson on the band.

I’ve been a fan of this band since their first album, Your Favorite Weapon. On paper it would probably be described as punk-pop, but something about that album stood out to me in a sea of punk-pop albums… this might sound ludicrous to some, but there was something about this album that reminded me of Radiohead’s Pablo Honey. I was confirmed with my Radiohead comparisons when Brand New’s second album, Deja Entendu came out. This album mellowed out and aside from their hit The Quiet Things that No One Ever Knows, the album was almost like an “emo-fied” version of The Bends, and when I use the word “emo-fied” I don’t mean it as an insult. Deju Entendu was a disappointment to those wanting more of the pop sounds that Your Favorite Weapon packed, however those who stuck around long enough were greatly rewarded by the depth of the lyrics and the dramatic build-ups.

Ah the lyrics. I personally think that singer Jesse Lacey, is one of the more under-rated lyricists out there.

“You are calm and reposed, let your beauty unfold pale white like the skin stretched over your bones. Spring keeps you ever close, you are second hand smoke, you are so fragile and thin standing trial for your sins. Holding onto yourself the best you can. You are the smell before rain, you are the blood in my veins.”
- from the song The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot

Anyhow, BRAND NEW IS GOOD - it may take a cloudy fall day for you to fall in love with the band, but it’s worth a shot.

VISIT: myspace.com/brandnew