Brand New Brand New Brand New Brand New
Today is a pretty monumental day. Not only did the Shins new one leak this morning (”Phantom Limb” single review in the works for posting in the immediate future), but here we have Brand New’s upcoming single, “Sowing Season (Yeah)”, a song I’ve been waiting THREE FUCKING YEARS to hear. You see, Brand New’s Deja Entendu remains one of my absolute favorite albums of all time despite the fact that I’ve more or less put my emo days firmly behind me, and the interminable wait (two years without a single word of news from the band, much less a single live date) for new material has had me living by a moment (a very long moment, mind you) ever since. Seriously, as surprising as it may seem to some of you considering the typical style of music I usually post in this space, I could not be more excited to write that Brand New has announced that their long-awaited third album, titled The God And The Devil Are Raging Inside Me in typical dramatic fashion, will be released through Interscope on November 21st, and that the first single, “Sowing Season (Yeah)”, was made available for streaming on the band’s MySpace page today and was subsequently ripped by me and is available for download below. The recording is ripped directly from the band’s MySpace and is not the ever-so-slightly lower-quality radio rip with the lame promotional voiceover mid-way through that’s been circulating since last night, so enjoy it and be sure to let me know what you think of the track and I’d also just love to hear what you think of Brand New as a band in general.
MP3: “Sowing Season (Yeah)” - Brand New [webrip]
I was actually in the attendance at Brand New’s show at UVa last year (their first in two years), where they played the track live for the first time ever and it sounded AMAZING, so suffice it to say I’m psyched to finally be able to delete my shit-ass live recording in favor of the real deal, even if it is a mediocre-quality webrip. I haven’t totally made up my mind on “Sowing Season” yet, in terms of whether or not it’s an evolution of the band’s sound or just how I feel about it in general, but “Crescendofest2k6″ (as I’ve taken to calling it) is pretty exciting if for the sole reason that I finally have some new Brand New material to feast on. The song opens with a simple acoustic guitar progression and steadily builds to an intense, emotive (that’s emo for short) climax with the help of a massive, crushing chorus and the metronomic brilliance of drummer Brian Lane. But yeah, about that last emo comment - this is emo, and yes, Brand New are undeniably emo, but it’s about 1000% better than the rest of the angsty screamers out there and Deja Entendu remains one of the best straight-up rock albums of the new millenium. I mean, even Pitchfork gave it a 6.9 (that’s almost a 7!) and actually called one of the tracks (”Guernica”) “brilliant”, though when I try to trove through the P-Fork archives to find the review it’s conspicuously “not found”. Considering that the ‘Fork usually wages critical war on anything even remotely emo, a 6.9 (and a “brilliant”) is pretty eye-opening and should serve as a testament to the unwavering brilliance of that album. While their debut, Your Favorite Weapon, consisted of your typical screamy heart-purging and celebration of the joys of teenagerhood (though I still love it), Deja saw a far darker and nuanced Brand New grabbing the spotlight, and that darker edge only further manifests itself here. Earlier this year, a bushel of untitled demos (nine of them, to be exact) surfaced on the internet, and while the majority of those were cut from the album, “Untitled 08″ was reworked and blossomed into “Sowing Season”, which will be unofficially released as a single on the 21st as a bonus disc (containing non-album b-side “Coca Cola”) to come packaged with all album pre-orders. Those interested in hearing the demos should head over to All Things Go, where Adrian’s got all of them hosted, and the rest of you can proceed below to more downloadable Brand New goodness.
MP3: “Untitled 08″ - Brand New
As a bonus, I’ve got a hard to find and highly sought-after three song radio session, the only one in circulation on the internet as far as I know. The three tracks are singles “Sic Transit Gloria” and “The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows”, as well as an awesome rendition of the aforementioned “Guernica”, and I’d highly recommend downloading those below for fans of Brand New thirsting for more of their material. I’ve also included the album version of “Guernica”, for those interested in hearing the song that managed to (albeit temporarily) break down Pitchfork’s wall of strict emo intolerance, as well as “Okay I Believe You But My Tommy Gun Don’t”, my favorite Brand New song and one of my ten favorite songs of all time. That’s all time, people. Granted, it’s status on that list has a lot to do with the place I was in my life at the time I discovered it (i.e. high school), but even to this day it hasn’t lost its luster and stays with me, sounding just as incredible as it ever did.
Brand New Live Radio Session:
1. “Guernica” - Brand New
2. “Sic Transit Gloria… Glory Fades” - Brand New
3. “The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows” - Brand New
Bonus MP3s:
“Guernica” - Brand New ((highly recommended))
“Okay, I Believe You…” - Brand New ((HIGHLY recommended))
Also, make a point to check out the enigmatic - and dare I say awesome - album cover for The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me here, and be sure to get yo’ pre-order on here.