Send "Brand New " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Music |
 If you need a little optimism in your music, look elsewhere. God and the devil are raging inside Brand New, and the good money is on the devil. Death drapes over the album like a heavy fog, without a speck of sunshine. There is nothing remotely bright or hopeful about songs about such things as burials, executions, and drowning babies. The eerie and disturbing imagery front man Jesse Lacey paints is incredibly palatable because of his undeniable skills as a songwriter, and because the gorgeous macabre lyrics feel at home against the brooding rock, with sharp edges that draw blood. Yes, a dim fog and the stench of death hangs over Brand New's new album, but you will want to get lost in it repeatedly. Everything feels just right throughout the effort. Lacey's vocals flicker between laid-back brooding melodic tones and intense passion and fire, flipping the switch back and forth frequently on the same track. His bi-polar vocals are perhaps best displayed on atmospheric opener "Sowing Season", tranquil and pensive one moment, then eruptive and roaring the next. The overwhelming sense of gloom is evident from the start, as lines about burying a body quickly chase lines about planting seeds. Flowing seamlessly from "Sowing Season" is storming "Millstone", playing like a more wide-awake expansion of the first track. Lacey's sharp songwriting skills are evident in lines like, "I used to be the glue that held my friends together / Now they don't talk and we don't go out / I used to know the name of every person I kissed / Now I made this bed, and I can't fall asleep in it". The haunting guitar dancing through the murky atmosphere is upstaged by the snarling hook that ravages your ears and stellar song writing on "You Won't Know". Lacey sheepishly creeps in with his tail between his legs as the tune begins, "Hey, hey, hey, mister hangman, go get your rope / Your daughters weren't careful, I fear that I am a slippery slope"....full text |
| Absolutepunk |
| Following their 2003 sophomore attempt Deja Entendu, Brand New finally released their well anticipated third album, The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me, at the end of 2006. Fans were expecting something remarkable after the success of the last album, but were in for a surprise. The darkness, questioning, and mysteriousness appearing in the new albumhad a much different approach than its predecessor Deja Entendu, which was adored by modern rock, containing meaningful lyrics, well played music, and a very fitting flow. The band had a rough three years in between albums, which is illustrated by the fact that the latest album was dedicated to fifteen people who they knew that died during the recording of the album. This is probably what set off the often dark and self questioning side of the album. Less than a year before the album was finally released, nine untitled demos were accidentally leaked onto the internet, giving the album a sense of being incomplete at times. “This record already feels incomplete to me without those tracks and probably will forever,” said Brand New’s front man, Jesse Lacey, who sings and writes generally all of the lyrics for the band, about the leaking of the songs. Despite the dark and incomplete feel, The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me somehow managed to still become a simply beautiful album, which is definitely expected from Brand New. The album starts off with the track “Sowing Seasons (Yeah).” The track immediately illustrates differences from this album to the band’s previous two. It starts with a slow approach, following a much more aggressive vocal performance by Jesse in the chorus, which seems to be a common theme throughout many of the tracks on the album. The intensity from Jesse’s voice in the chorus isn’t from a notable scream by many bands in the scene today, but through a melodic yell. Although Brand New is far from being a Christian band and do not express Christianity in any of their work, the album’s single entitled “Jesus Christ” comes in as the third track, and also as one of the slowest tracks. I believe this song sends the overall message of the self-questioning feel on the album. “Well, Jesus Christ I’m not scared to die./I’m a little bit scared of what comes after. Do I get the gold chariot?/Do I float through the ceiling?” This gives listeners the idea of Jesse questioning about life after death and being afraid of what will come....full text |
| Spin |
| When these Long Island thinkers released their second album, Deja Entendu, in the summer of 2003, it stood as one of the most promising artistic statements of the mainstreamo boom. With their bravely ambitious songs and Smiths-obsessed singer/guitarist Jesse Lacey, the band formed a deep connection with LiveJournal-authoring teens. And then...well, nothing. Brand New virtually disappeared a year after Deja Entendu's release, its members retreating to the suburbs, where they slowly woodshedded their third album (and major-label debut). So what's changed in the interim? For one, Brand New no longer sound like a wounded emo band. In fact, they sound like a band that wants to plow your ass over with two dozen Marshall half stacks. The mall-ready hooks and occasional stabs at acoustic pop on Deja Entendu have been replaced by the sort of Radiohead-indebted bombast that begs to be played at lease-breaking volumes. With "Luca" and "Millstone," lead guitarist Vinnie Accardi manages to use every ridiculous effect pedal he's got, but such excess perfectly suits these dense, proggy songs. No indulgent impulse goes ignored. And when Lacey joins in, wailing away on "Degausser," going riff for riff with anything off The Bends, Brand New seem rightfully inspired by a bigger and bolder future....full text |
Brand New lyrics Music videoclips
|
| |||||||||||||
