It’s amazing the power the internet can have. While ‘Your Favourite Weapon‘ is classed by many as the band’s career highlight, it wasn’t until 2003’s ‘Deja Entendu’ – a record I class as a masterpiece – that the band broke out. A slew of successful singles saw the band break the mainstream and ink a deal with Universal. And then they literally disappeared. Unable to cope with the fame that came their way, Jesse Lacey went to ground and the band took around two years off to re-group. ‘The Devil And God…’ is a fantastic record. But it’s not the mainstream follow-up the record label may have expected. Infact there’s barely a chorus on the entire record. Instead, the band turn up The Smiths and Modest Mouse influences, switching from the ballsy rock-out numbers (‘Sowing Season’) to the gentler more twisted tracks (‘Luca’). But what this record does show, and rather cleverly at that, is how the band have suffered for their art. And while we know Jesse Lacey is a rather tortured soul, he sinks to new depths on this record. And while it may not be too obvious on first listen – just like the album as a whole – the more you listen and the more you play it, the better Brand New become.
This can basically be summed up by the album’s opening track, ‘Sowing Season’. I’d argue it’s classic Brand New, one of the band’s best songs. It’s a slow burner, taking its time to wind up. But when it does it culminates with a refrain that sums up this record to a tee – “I’m not your friend, I’m just a man who knows who it feels. I’m not your friend, I’m not your lover, I’m not your family.” It’s almost an open letter of apology for disappearing over the last two years. “I am on the mend/At least now I can say that I am trying/Hope you will forget/The things that I still lack.” The weight of burden continues with ‘Millstone’, before the exceptional ‘Jesus Christ’ sees the band take on religion – a recurring theme for this album. What makes this song in particular so good is that there’s no chorus, yet it’s still catchy and melodic and trademark Brand New.
While I don’t think this record quite matches up to ‘Deja’, there’s no doubt it again pushes at the boundaries that many bands daren’t go near. Failing to fall into a comfort zone that the band could be forgiven for taking, the 8-minute ‘Limousine’ and the odd ‘Welcome To Bangkok’ show the band aren’t afraid to ditch what may have been predicted, shunning the catchy choruses that made their last album such a big success. ‘Not The Sun’ and ‘Luca’ are a little more traditional – the former is a bass-led stomper that really kicks in, flexing Lacey’s vocal muscles.
The reason this has taken such a long time to be reviewed is that the more you listen to this album, the more you get from it. It’s an album that becomes rewarding, ditching short-term gratification in the pursuit of something a little more grown up and ambitious than the band have ever managed. That they refuse to do many interviews only adds to the mystery that surrounds Brand New. ‘The Devil And God…’ was hyped so badly before its release it would always struggle to match expectations, but I’m glad it does maintain the band’s high standards. Whether it will equal the commercial success of ‘Deja Entendu’ I don’t know, but what I can safely say is this record is a stunner and worthy of all the silence and mystery surrounding it.