Brand New - The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me

To call Brand New’s most recent effort an anticipated release would be the understatement of 2006. After releasing one of the most quintessential "scene" albums of all time with 2003’s Deja Entendu, the band signed a major label deal and seemed primed to lead the indie march into the mainstream. And then, they disappeared, leaving fans to only speculate as to where exactly they went. Then came the infamous leaked demos and the whispers began that Brand New would finally be returning. The truth of the matter is that The Devil and God is not Deja Entendu Part 2. It's darker, more precise and much more internally focused than any of Brand New's previous efforts, as Jesse Lacey (vocals/guitars) takes us into almost uncomfortable depths of emotion and wrings us out through some dazzling riffs and the constant ebb and flow of sound. To listen to this album is to tuck yourself deep into the minds of four clearly conflicted individuals, each of whom uses his instrument to express the conflict quite ably. Is this album a comfortable listen? Most definitely not, but it is obviously the work of a band that knows how to take reality, distort it and turn it into brilliance. To call if one of the best albums of 2006 would certainly not be an understatement. [www.fightoffyourdemons.com]