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Whatever you remember about the native Long Island quartet Brand
New from their past two albums Deja Entendu in 2003 and
Your Favorite Weapon in 2001, like their hardcore/punk signatures
as persuasive as Finch and Unwritten Law, let it go.
Their major label debut, The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me,
produced by the band and their long time friend/collaborator Mike
Sapone - who was also involved in Brand New's two previous albums
- is more Papa Roach plaque hyphenated by a Moneen thematic
in their melodic rock measures of guitar riffage and vocal dimensions.
Brand New's current release The Devil And God Raging Inside Of
Me touches on dark conflicting emotions in their lyrical content
reflective of Nirvana's introspective diary-like entries, but
played with a modern rock style that gives these lyrics intensity
crackling with organic textures similar to My Chemical Romance.
Band members Jesse Lacey (lead vocals), Brian Lane
(drummer), Vinnie Accardi (guitar), and Garrett Tierney
(bass) weave their instrument and vocal movements between gentle whispers
and blasts of outbursts with wide reaching howls. The album starts
off with the plaintive quenched "Sowing Season," looping
soft whispering vocals and guitar rotations with vocal shouts and
postulating guitar cuts. The drum rolls on "Millstone" switch
intermittently between heavy fisted swings and sprites of sparse notches
along the melodic folds while the lyrical content is intimate with
the listener as Lacey's vocals glide through the verses: "I used
to pray to God was listening/ I used to make my parents proud/ I was
the glue that kept my friends together/ Now they don't talk and we
don't go out."
The lyrics show a personal change, a transformation in one's character
that does not necessarily make one a better person. The lyrics can
be implied to represent the visual on the album cover with two skeletal
figures in black cloaks waiting at the front door of a home while
a little girl is at the side of the house hiding from the demonic
apparitions who seem to be waiting to take her. The image can be symbolic
of Brand New's lyrics which portray innocence being threatened by
malevolent forces. The instrument verses project this struggle by
interchanging between building platoons of large clumping swells then
releasing the coiled tension into hollowed burghs. "Jesus"
is suckled into these seesaw flurries with a vocal melody that flosses
rippling octave swags. "Degeusser" dowers crisp drum beasts
and ghostly vocal glides that step into loud howls adjoined by billowing
children choruses and stormy instrument vibrations. The movements
transform from quietly contemplative to bawling screams.
The songs movements vary from rushing flusters and coiled clumps
to reclining motions and soft weightless vocals like on "Limousine"
and "You Won't Know." Brand New also uses some acoustic
guitar verses on "Welcome To Bangkok" and "Luca",
adding on spiraling guitar shreds and puncturing drum rolls. The sparkling
synth effects and tambourines on "Luca" thicken the melody
as the vocals scale along the notes giving the number a glossy finish.
The quick drum rolls on "The Archers Bows Have Broken" have
a punk rock crunch, while the final track "Handcuffs," the
only track with lyrics written by the band's guitarist Accardi, all
other lyrics are written by Lacey, pervades a Brit-pop psychedelics
reminiscent of Babyshambles.
Brand New's latest release The Devil And God Raging Inside Me
has an epic feel to it, not just because of the glossy textures of
the instrument lines and the vocal sophistication in the melodies,
but because of the maturity in the lyrical content. The band has undergone
a monumental change not only musically but internally. The album transcends
categories like emo, hardcore, punk rock, etc. that were implied in
their music and made well crafted pop/rock songs with deep meaning
sewn into the verses. They didn't sacrifice fun, they just became
more serious about their actions.
-Susan Frances
Track listing:
1. Sowing Season
2. Millstone
3. Jesus Christ
4. Degeusser
5. Limousine
6. You Won't Know
7. Welcome To Bangkok
8. Not The Sun
9. Luca
10. Untitled
11. The Archers Bows Have Broken
12. Handcuffs
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