Apr 22, 2026 at 12:02 AM @Justin Trudeau @AOTWClub Brand New - The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me Brand New is a band that I've heard very little of despite being in genres that are some of my favorites (partially to all the Jessie Lacey s---). I've heard high praise of this album and know its very important to the genre also enjoyed Limousine from when it was in the mixtape round so im intrigued to jump into this! Sowing Season (Yeah) is a perfect opener, incredible track all around, Jessie Lacey's performance and writing are very strong and the instrumentation is equally enthralling for both the quieter verses and explosive chorus. The same things is said carries over right into Millstone, really loving where the vocals sit in the mix and the phrasing for the lyrics are perfect. I love well written depressed white boy music so much. This album is a lot more laid back and pretty sonically than i was expecting and Jesus Christ is a great example of this. This might be my favorite in the tracklist so far. The concept to this track is super unique and executed perfectly while still having the ability to be relatable. 5mins is around the length songs can feel long if they're not structured properly but this is perfect. I like doing the track by track reviews but I'm afraid it will get redundant on this project cause its so consistent but Degausser is incredible. The group vocals into the chorus is gorgeous. This is the kinda s--- that would've helped shape my personality and taste if I heard this when it came out. Idk whats up with Emo and Post Hardcore albums wanting to talk about real life deaths but learning what Limousine about was awful, but it makes the song even stronger in context. f---ing great harrowing song. All the backing vocals of "Ill never have to lose my baby in the crowd" and "ill never have to buy adjacent plots of earth" are so harrowing given the subject, then going into the droning outro. Its perfect. You Won't Know keeps up the flawless run so far, a lot more in your face than most of the other tracks but it works in its favor. Really helps the pacing of the runtime. Its a recurring thing obviously within the genre and within the album given the title of the project but all the religious themes and metaphors for the different track concepts really tie the whole thing together quite well. Not much to say about Welcome To Bangkok, very solid interlude kind of track. Just as instrumentally great as the rest of the record. Idk if the one recurring line in this track means anything thats known or if its up to interpretation but its intriguing. I apparently saved Not The Sun before but i dont remember when that all. Really like this track, has a bit more of a straight forward alt rock vibe in the sound and lyrics that was releasing around the same time but still fits. The tempo change before the last chorus was my favorite part, added more texture to it that was needed. Luca is great, I wouldn't expect a correlation between the themes of the record and a character from The Godfather would happen at all let alone work well together but i dig it. Was not expecting the drop into heavier vocals at all which is funny considering the rest of the album but still being able to be surprised this far into the tracklist is a god sign. Love the guitar work on this one. Untitled is deceptively great for how simple it us, super textured, almost Radiohead esque. Super serene and vague haunting. Really liked it. Archers is great, lyrically it touches a lot on my problems with a lot of people who practice religion. Sonically its actually a bit Post Punk-y in a way I wasnt expecting especially in Jessie cadence in the verses, reminds me a bit of Bloc Party. Was not expecting something this high energy after Untitled but it works! Handcuffs is a really solid outro and one of the immediately darker songs on the project to me. "It's hard to be the better man when you forget you're trying" is a simple lyric on its face but thematically very powerful coming at the end of this project. I figured the project would end on a somber note but it's execution was pretty perfect. Favorite Songs: Sowing Season, Jesus Christ, Degausser, Limousine, Not The Sun, Archers Jessie Lacey being gross aside this album is d--- near flawless to me in a genre I already love and its a very rare occasion that 2 back to back albums would be some of my favorites of the whole thread but I'm happy to say thats the case. Not a second of runtime is wasted and its bafflingly consistent. I can see and agree with why this is considered a classic in its niche. @Jimmy Jazz understanding me musically as per usual. RATING 10/10
Apr 22, 2026 at 12:04 AM Gonna get to this tmrw hopefully, heard the first track and am excited to check the rest out!
Apr 22, 2026 at 12:07 AM I thought the Purple Mountains and Brand New albums were close to what picks I've been knocking around in my head to choose cause of what they were listed as genre wise but they're actually quite different in execution so I'm excited again lmao. I now have my album locked and am intrigued to see what y'all think, I'm expecting it to be a little divisive which is kinda what i want.
Apr 22, 2026 at 1:04 AM Sorry if im behind on stuff this week guys im just out here in the rockies drinking and looking for Grizzlies Snowy as f--- still
Apr 22, 2026 at 1:43 AM d--- nice af man You take preparing for the ICEMAN a little too serious though
Apr 22, 2026 at 6:23 AM Lets f---ing goo man. Amazing review, am so glad you like this project as much as I do!!
Apr 22, 2026 at 4:42 PM I'm off tomorrow. It should give me enough time to review the album and jerk off to Sydney Sweeney
