Soot and Stars
I AM SOOT!
Brand New-Science Fiction
If you feel so obliged then just delve into the full album stream and see if it grabs you for the whole ride and speaks to a part of you you haven't had spoken to in a long time or if you get lost after the first few seconds of dialogue. While there are still bands capable of creating something whole like this maybe it's audience has died. The success of this band and now this album (it's their first #1) contribute to me not losing hope. In fact, up to this last part of the year I had thought this was my weakest year overall for music in nearly a decade. In fact, it was a little over a decade that Brand News spiritual predecessor, The Devil and God Are Raging Inside came out and shook up everything I knew about Modern Rock. That is a top twenty all time album for me and I'm stubbornly fighting it but this new album might dethrone that one. I mean I have been listening to it almost daily since it's release on youtube and now since it's official physical release and I can't stop. Maybe I can explain in better detail now that the OP and all it's hype are out of the way.
Brand New debuted with "Your Favorite Weapon" in 2001 and is definitely a case of a band not putting their best foot forward the first time around. In that same sense it was the perfect album for them to start with as the band has had this masterful career arc intentional or not of portraying their age, growth and maturity with each album. 'Your Favorite Album" was their angstiest and most juvenile album that fit in to the Emo/Screamo era of the time. The lead singles was one of the most spiteful breakup songs you'll ever here by far. If you were told that these guys would become one of the greatest eldest statement of Hard or Alt-Rock in the future you may rightly be called crazy. Still there were murmurs of something better on there.
The followup album, "Deja Entendu", is where they were starting to find their voice and also when the band broke out and started to build their fan base. The music still had a youthful and angsty energy but the songwriting, ambiance and emotions were maturing. With every adrenaline rushing Rock track there was a slow burner to reflect on. This is when you'll hear the great steady songwriter tone and hypnotic cadence of vocalist Jesse Lacey that precedes the belting choruses and is punctuate by his screams and wails. It's a great balance and his vocal matures as time goes on. At this stage he has more of a warble that smooths out with each album. The album takes the elements of growing up and adds depression, introspection and more adult themes to the typical teen narcissism. This is the album about growing up and realizing you have to do just that. The music is great and holds up but it was the following that caught my attention as well as others and caused a divide between bands on where they peaked.
When "The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me" came out it was just that album cover above that I saw that drew me in. I hadn't heard hype about the album and there was no name on the cover. I saw the band name on the spine and could not connect them to something so dark. I was so intrigued. When I played the album I was cemented from the first lyrics of "Sowing Season".
"Was losing all my friends.
Was losing them to drinking and to driving.
Was losing all my friends, but I got them back."
Then it blasted into the screams and heavy guitars and I knew things had gotten real. Things had gotten real dark in three years time and this album was a game changer. The album covered addiction, religion, darkness, death and the deep recesses of ones self through the experiences of it's songwriter. The album was everything an album should be. It was a start to finish album that was punctuated with the heaviest of heaviness to the most atmospheric somberness. At it's most droll moments it was actually pretty Floyd like and bridged some Classic Rock qualities with the newer Rock. The album kept it's themes and told it's story and when you finished you had an experience. It made you relate to the singer but even better brought your experiences to it. You felt angry! You felt sad (look up the story Limousine and feel the punch to the gut)! You felt something and in the end it was great because it's one of the most cathartic experiences ever perfectly crafted and glorious! Instant addition to your favorite bands or at least that was mine and many others experiences!
The last precursor to the new album was the bands most divisive album and it destroyed the confines of what The Devil and God Built. It was fierce, loud, chaotic and all over the place musically. It was an album that you had to let go off prior expectations and let grow on you to appreciate. I admit I was originally disappointed and it really caught me off guard but it was honestly a sign of a band I can love. I love when a band does what it wants and surprises me and that's what this band was doing. It was a band stripping off their prior skin and wanting to reconstruct again. The album is a cool piece of that methodology and has some sweet highlights.
So what is it about the new album, purportedly their last that has me ready to dethrone one of my favorite albums period particularly when some it's greatest traits are shared with that same album? The album is actually their most mellow offering but also their most mature in songwriting and musicianship period. A friend of mine pointed out the word "nuance" in this case. "So much f***ing nuance" and he was right. Every detail seems to be integrated perfectly. It was seven years since the last record (a detail repeated between a bridge between songs) and the band decided to give it one last go with something potent and perfectly crafted. It covers similar themes as The Devil and God with addiction and the darkness of spirituality and adds the elements of therapy, self harm, the effects of depression on others and one's art, talking to his younger self and fighting with himself through all his struggles. Musically it may not have the cathartic highs and lows that come with a heavier album it replaces that with their best melodies and harmonies yet. I literally cannot get "Waste" out of my head and the dark melancholy harmony of "137" just gives me the shivers in the best way. If you want a real deep thought on religion just consider this track on the ability for Gods creation to wipe itself out in nuclear warfare.
"Open the gates
And then conceal the path
Let's load the gun
And see how long they last"
The questions brought out about on religion are never insulting but honest consideration. One question repeated between this album and The Devil and God is the idea of losing loved ones when crossing over and how that isn't really a Heaven. It's always been a consideration for me and something I like seeing reflected through another human being. So although this album is among their heaviest when it does it's also one of brand News finer moments as they integrated some really nice and new to their work guitar solos. When you hear one of the few belted choruses in the slow building but rocking "Same Logic" followed by an awesome solo it makes for the albums big epic and gives you enough to finish the album happy. This album is what is created when one takes their time and knows every detail of their vision. It's one you pick up over and over again not because it's a noise they need to hear but because it's symbiotic and speaks to you. The words speak to you. The melodies speak to you. They become immersed in your head and escape your throat without thought. The harmonies ring in your ears even when you walk away from it. It fits your own life through phrases you hear but also makes you cycle the bits and pieces you hear that you never thought to contemplate. It's the album that even if it's not for you you could easily envy the connection it serves to it's biggest embracers. This year went from being meh to lifting me up on a higher spiritual sonic level than I've been in so long and it's thanks to Brand New. Farewell perhaps! If it is the end what a note to go out on!
While i recommend a start to finish album experience here are three of my highlights from the album:
Same Logic/Teeth
Waste
137
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If you feel so obliged then just delve into the full album stream and see if it grabs you for the whole ride and speaks to a part of you you haven't had spoken to in a long time or if you get lost after the first few seconds of dialogue. While there are still bands capable of creating something whole like this maybe it's audience has died. The success of this band and now this album (it's their first #1) contribute to me not losing hope. In fact, up to this last part of the year I had thought this was my weakest year overall for music in nearly a decade. In fact, it was a little over a decade that Brand News spiritual predecessor, The Devil and God Are Raging Inside came out and shook up everything I knew about Modern Rock. That is a top twenty all time album for me and I'm stubbornly fighting it but this new album might dethrone that one. I mean I have been listening to it almost daily since it's release on youtube and now since it's official physical release and I can't stop. Maybe I can explain in better detail now that the OP and all it's hype are out of the way.
You must be registered for see images attach
Brand New debuted with "Your Favorite Weapon" in 2001 and is definitely a case of a band not putting their best foot forward the first time around. In that same sense it was the perfect album for them to start with as the band has had this masterful career arc intentional or not of portraying their age, growth and maturity with each album. 'Your Favorite Album" was their angstiest and most juvenile album that fit in to the Emo/Screamo era of the time. The lead singles was one of the most spiteful breakup songs you'll ever here by far. If you were told that these guys would become one of the greatest eldest statement of Hard or Alt-Rock in the future you may rightly be called crazy. Still there were murmurs of something better on there.
You must be registered for see images attach
The followup album, "Deja Entendu", is where they were starting to find their voice and also when the band broke out and started to build their fan base. The music still had a youthful and angsty energy but the songwriting, ambiance and emotions were maturing. With every adrenaline rushing Rock track there was a slow burner to reflect on. This is when you'll hear the great steady songwriter tone and hypnotic cadence of vocalist Jesse Lacey that precedes the belting choruses and is punctuate by his screams and wails. It's a great balance and his vocal matures as time goes on. At this stage he has more of a warble that smooths out with each album. The album takes the elements of growing up and adds depression, introspection and more adult themes to the typical teen narcissism. This is the album about growing up and realizing you have to do just that. The music is great and holds up but it was the following that caught my attention as well as others and caused a divide between bands on where they peaked.
You must be registered for see images attach
When "The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me" came out it was just that album cover above that I saw that drew me in. I hadn't heard hype about the album and there was no name on the cover. I saw the band name on the spine and could not connect them to something so dark. I was so intrigued. When I played the album I was cemented from the first lyrics of "Sowing Season".
"Was losing all my friends.
Was losing them to drinking and to driving.
Was losing all my friends, but I got them back."
Then it blasted into the screams and heavy guitars and I knew things had gotten real. Things had gotten real dark in three years time and this album was a game changer. The album covered addiction, religion, darkness, death and the deep recesses of ones self through the experiences of it's songwriter. The album was everything an album should be. It was a start to finish album that was punctuated with the heaviest of heaviness to the most atmospheric somberness. At it's most droll moments it was actually pretty Floyd like and bridged some Classic Rock qualities with the newer Rock. The album kept it's themes and told it's story and when you finished you had an experience. It made you relate to the singer but even better brought your experiences to it. You felt angry! You felt sad (look up the story Limousine and feel the punch to the gut)! You felt something and in the end it was great because it's one of the most cathartic experiences ever perfectly crafted and glorious! Instant addition to your favorite bands or at least that was mine and many others experiences!
You must be registered for see images attach
The last precursor to the new album was the bands most divisive album and it destroyed the confines of what The Devil and God Built. It was fierce, loud, chaotic and all over the place musically. It was an album that you had to let go off prior expectations and let grow on you to appreciate. I admit I was originally disappointed and it really caught me off guard but it was honestly a sign of a band I can love. I love when a band does what it wants and surprises me and that's what this band was doing. It was a band stripping off their prior skin and wanting to reconstruct again. The album is a cool piece of that methodology and has some sweet highlights.
You must be registered for see images attach
So what is it about the new album, purportedly their last that has me ready to dethrone one of my favorite albums period particularly when some it's greatest traits are shared with that same album? The album is actually their most mellow offering but also their most mature in songwriting and musicianship period. A friend of mine pointed out the word "nuance" in this case. "So much f***ing nuance" and he was right. Every detail seems to be integrated perfectly. It was seven years since the last record (a detail repeated between a bridge between songs) and the band decided to give it one last go with something potent and perfectly crafted. It covers similar themes as The Devil and God with addiction and the darkness of spirituality and adds the elements of therapy, self harm, the effects of depression on others and one's art, talking to his younger self and fighting with himself through all his struggles. Musically it may not have the cathartic highs and lows that come with a heavier album it replaces that with their best melodies and harmonies yet. I literally cannot get "Waste" out of my head and the dark melancholy harmony of "137" just gives me the shivers in the best way. If you want a real deep thought on religion just consider this track on the ability for Gods creation to wipe itself out in nuclear warfare.
"Open the gates
And then conceal the path
Let's load the gun
And see how long they last"
The questions brought out about on religion are never insulting but honest consideration. One question repeated between this album and The Devil and God is the idea of losing loved ones when crossing over and how that isn't really a Heaven. It's always been a consideration for me and something I like seeing reflected through another human being. So although this album is among their heaviest when it does it's also one of brand News finer moments as they integrated some really nice and new to their work guitar solos. When you hear one of the few belted choruses in the slow building but rocking "Same Logic" followed by an awesome solo it makes for the albums big epic and gives you enough to finish the album happy. This album is what is created when one takes their time and knows every detail of their vision. It's one you pick up over and over again not because it's a noise they need to hear but because it's symbiotic and speaks to you. The words speak to you. The melodies speak to you. They become immersed in your head and escape your throat without thought. The harmonies ring in your ears even when you walk away from it. It fits your own life through phrases you hear but also makes you cycle the bits and pieces you hear that you never thought to contemplate. It's the album that even if it's not for you you could easily envy the connection it serves to it's biggest embracers. This year went from being meh to lifting me up on a higher spiritual sonic level than I've been in so long and it's thanks to Brand New. Farewell perhaps! If it is the end what a note to go out on!
While i recommend a start to finish album experience here are three of my highlights from the album:
Same Logic/Teeth
xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media
Waste
xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media
137
xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media
