Brand New

With the release of this record, Brand New have volunteered to save the young minds of kids who have been spending their allowance on the new My Chemical Romance album by exposing them to something smart and stunning. While this category of music is usually abused by bands who care more about their haircuts than the actual music they release, Brand New use it as a vehicle through which to gift listeners with a beautifully melancholic creation worthy of any praise it can garner.

Jesse Lacey is a great poet, and the lyrical content here is fantastic, but almost overshadowed by brilliant songwriting that is as captivating as it is catchy. I can’t call any one track a standout as it would only cheapen what Brand New have done in their crafting of this album as a collage of different emotions and attitudes, and because I wouldn’t be able to choose one anyways.

The more intense “You Won’t Know” and “Not the Sun” are as aggressive as they are engaging. “Limousine” takes the listener on a journey that builds to a brilliant four-minute coda, where Lacey is at his most vulnerable on the record, and the chorus of “Millstone” really shows this band hasn’t forgotten how to make their songs stick in the listener’s head.

This record has a dark and miserable aura, but from that spawns something truly special that will hopefully be embraced by anyone who gets to experience it. After listening to The Devil and God…, it was clear to me that God won the fight, because the Devil has moved on and will likely be retaking his audio form in Fall Out Boy’s next CD.  [ END ]

Track Listing:

01. Sowing Season
02. Millstone
03. Jesus
04. Degausser
05. Limousine (MS Rebridge)
06. You Won’t Know
07. Welcome To Bangkok
08. Not The Sun
09. Luca
10. Untitled
11. The Archers Bows Have Broken
12. Handcuffs

Run Time: 54:50