THE DEVIL AND GOD ARE RAGING INSIDE ME - BRAND NEW
Hopes rise for the emotional health of Brand New when frontman Jesse Lacey sings, “At least now I’m trying.” But in short order, Lacey reassures, “I’m still the king of ‘the storm is coming.”‘ Brand New remains emo’s most ambitiously pained ambassador, angst-’n'-rolling its way through romantic travails and suicidal visions. “The Devil and God” plays its hurt with polish and panache, however, as Brand New’s textured dynamics marry mood and an aggressive ebb-and-flow on nearly every track. The winding arrangement on “Limousine” nicely complements the harder-rocking gallops of “Not the Sun” and “Archers.” “Jesus Christ” ponders bleak expectations for the pearly gates, while the band deploys violin for an even richer ambience on the album-closing “Handcuffs.” Lacey asks us to “forget things I still lack,” but the album’s sonic bases are so loaded it’s hard to imagine much of anything is missing. Billboard
