The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me

Rolling Stone (p.116) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he selling -- and sticking -- point is still the dark drama, with shadowy, shimmery textures, agonized choruses and frontman Jesse Lacey yowling away." Spin (p.99) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[With] the sort of Radiohead-indebted bombast that begs to be played at lease-breaking volumes." Alternative Press (p.136) - Included in Alternative Press's "10 Essential Albums Of 2006" -- "[A]n exercise in horrifying beauty, bordering on brilliance at every deconstructed song structure..." CMJ (p.33) - "[With] unabashedly large, dynamic, midtempo bangers lifted by the doubled, loquacious lines of frontman Jesse Lacey." Kerrang (Magazine) (p.47) - "As the layers pile on, this quickly becomes a tightly honed, huge-sounding album..." Pitchfork (Website) - "Lacey begs for divine retribution, and some of the most bludgeoning dynamics you'll hear on a modern rock record deliver it."

When Brand New released Deja Entendu in mid-2003, it caught a lot of their fans off guard. It found the band taking a stylistic leap forward from the clever (albeit cookie-cutter) pop-punk of their 2001 debut, exploring expanded sonic textures and indie rock overtones, their urgent choruses tempered by acoustic musings and softer introspections. It all seemed very deliberate yet completely natural all the same, and the record was an underground smash. Something even more substantial was definitely brewing beneath the band's emo facade, and as a result, Brand New's follow-up was hotly anticipated for the three years it took the band to release it. The resulting The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me is the completion of their pop-punk molting process and one of the best surprises -- that isn't really a surprise at all -- to come out of 2006. Even when they were playing straightforward pop-punk ditties, Brand New had an edge to them that made them seem smarter than their peers; now they sound even older and stronger (and like they've been listening to a lot of '90s college and indie rock). This record is dark and dense, yet accessible, a shadowy air permeating every crevice where Jesse Lacey's plaintive and often tortured lyrics aren't already residing. He draws listeners in with vulnerable ruminations and questions of love, death, self, and religion, and his vocal inflections bring as much meaning to the table as his carefully chosen words. The opening "Sowing Season" ebbs and flows steadily, moving along under light guitar before exploding with percussion, Lacey ably switching from a hushed delivery into an anguished cry of emotion before falling back down again effortlessly. With it, Brand New sets up the somber intensity of the record straightaway. Textural and sonic layers unfold at every turn -- punching drums and trembling guitars here, aching vocals and subtle touches of string there -- and the album moves with a directed force that seems so naturally powerful and uncontrived, it's almost ridiculous to think that the band cut its teeth with poppy anthems like "Jude Law and a Summer Abroad." The Devil and God is not an album of hooks; the excellent percussive stomp of "The Archers Bows Have Broken" is the most immediate here, but songs get stuck in the brain nonetheless and demand repeated spins. Old fans especially smitten by Deja's "Play Crack the Sky" have no excuse not to love everything about this record, as even lengthy tracks (like the near-eight-minute "Limousine" or the chill-inducing beauty of "Jesus") are completely compelling. People who were ready to discount Brand New into the emo/TRL heap of the 2000s better rethink their stance; Brand New seems to know exactly what they're doing and this record is a testament to their ability to stay true to themselves. Whether they want to stay underground or fully break into the mainstream, this album has the potential to do either. Either way it doesn't really matter -- whatever happens, there's no denying how excellent this record is. ~ Corey Apar

前作からタップリ3年半ものブランクを経て、ロングアイランドのブランニューがついにメジャー・デビューを果たした。凍てつくような静寂から一転、鬱積した感情が一気に溢れ出したかのように激情パートへと傾れ込んでいくドラマティックな構成は、宇宙的なスケールのデカさを感じさせる。前作の流れを踏襲しつつもさらに一歩抜け出した、ポップネスだけを追い求める凡百のエモ・バンドには到底マネできない作品だ。
bounce (C)若狭谷 力