Brand New - The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me

In late 2005, Brand New started recording their highly-anticipated third album in Oxford, Mississippi with producer Dennis Herring, but later dropped him in favor of Mike Sapone with whom they had worked on their first album.

On January 24, 2006, nine demos recorded in preparation of the new album were leaked onto the Internet. All nine tracks were untitled and were of unknown origin. It was stated by an unknown source that these demos "probably won't be on Fight Off Your Demons", the then-rumored title for the new album based on the band's new website address. In the following months, with Brand New doing their first tour dates in over 18 months, a few songs from the demos were performed with a full band, some were fleshed out and had new lyrics. New songs had their debut as well during the summer tour dates. There was much speculation about the names of songs and the album name but very little solid information. Brand New began their first tour in years on June 20, 2006 at New Jersey's famous Starland Ballroom, where Lacey stated that the album had been finished the previous day.

After much speculation and rumor regarding the final release date, and Alternative Press publishing a preliminary date of October 10, 2006, as the release date, the official website announced that the new album would finally be released on November 21, 2006 in North America, and the day before in Europe. Soon after, a track listing and cover art were revealed, as well as new information regarding the release of the first actual single - "Sowing Season" - one of the new tracks previewed during the summer tour. "Sowing Season" was revealed to be the final version of the song formerly known to fans as "Untitled 08". The single finally got a public airing on radio on October 19, 2006, and appeared on their MySpace page a day later. According to Lacey in a radio interview from the UK (BBC Radio 1 with Zane Lowe), the title The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me is taken from a conversation he had with his friend about the musician Daniel Johnston, who has bipolar disorder.

In late December 2006, an unusual video was released for the instrumental track "Untitled", also known as "-", which mainly consists of a man spray painting a wall with "evil and good are raging Inside me" and correcting it to give the album title. On January 16, 2007, "Jesus Christ" was announced as being the "official" first single from the album. On January 19, the band performed the song on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. They performed it again on February 26 on the Late Show with David Letterman.

From January to June 2007, the band toured the United States, Europe, Canada, and Australia, including a headline slot on the UK's Give It A Name tour and playing the main stage at The Bamboozle festival. Despite the band's reluctance towards the press around the time of the release of the album, they were featured in Alternative Press, a cover story for Rock Sound, Kerrang!, and NME. The band went tour for the fall of 2007, with openers Thrice and MewithoutYou. In early 2008, Brand New toured Australia and New Zealand on the Big Day Out festival.

On October 19, 2007, the band announced via their MySpace and their official website that a new song, entitled "(Fork and Knife)", would be released online on October 23, 2007. "(Fork and Knife)", a rerecorded version of the track formerly called "Untitled 7" by fans from the leaked demos, was released as a single track download. The song has, thus far, been exclusively an Internet download and has yet to see a physical release. The song was released in Japan on October 31, 2007.

Brand New - Your Favorite Weapon

After signing a single album deal on Triple Crown Records, the band set to work on their debut, Your Favorite Weapon. The album was to be a mix of rerecorded songs from their demos as well as several new ones. The album was produced by Mike Sapone and was a moderate success. The record deal gave the band the opportunity to tour, both nationally and internationally, supporting bands like Taking Back Sunday, Less Than Jake, Glassjaw, Incubus and Finch.

The only single released from Your Favorite Weapon was "Jude Law and a Semester Abroad", which received airplay on both MTV2 and Fuse.

In August 2002, Iodine Recordings released Your Favorite Weapon on 12" vinyl along with an extra track, "...My Nine Rides Shotgun", a demo from the band's early days. 500 copies were pressed on clear blue vinyl and 100 copies were pressed on white. Because of high demand, Iodine Recordings repressed Your Favorite Weapon in early 2003 on clear vinyl, limited to 300 copies.

Soon after the release of Your Favorite Weapon, the band released two songs on a split EP with Safety in Numbers, which contained the tracks "Moshi Moshi" and a cover of Love Spit Love's "Am I Wrong". "Moshi Moshi" was also later available as a B-side on the UK "Jude Law and a Semester Abroad" single.

Brand New - Deja Entendu

The band's second album, Deja Entendu, was released in June 2003 to much acclaim. The album contains slower, deeper songs than those on Your Favorite Weapon, with a more polished sound. The album was produced by Steven Haigler, who was the sound engineer on the Pixies' Trompe le Monde. The title is French, literally translating to "already heard," which is said to be at critics who claimed that the band sounded like every other group in the genre. Jesse Lacey got the name for the album while watching an episode of Jeopardy!. The band has stated that most of the songs were not demoed and were "rushed", and that eleven out of the twelve songs recorded for the album appeared on it - with only "Flying At Tree Level (Version 1.0)" left off, which later appeared on the Beer: The Movie soundtrack. "Play Crack the Sky", whose title refers to Lacey's friend, and former Taking Back Sunday guitarist, John Nolan, yelling out "play Crack the Sky!" during a Mylon LeFevre concert, was a late addition. The album debuted at number 63 on the Billboard 200.

Three singles were released from this album on Eat Sleep Records and Sorepoint Records. The first single released was "The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows", which featured the bonus tracks "Moshi Moshi (Acoustic)", which was recorded in their friend's basement at a party. This track is now available on the bands Street Team, the original version being featured on their Safety in Numbers split EP, the other being the song "Car." Their second single from the album, "Sic Transit Gloria... Glory Fades," is a shortened version of the common Latin phrase sic transit gloria mundi ("Thus passes the glory of the world") and is a reference to a line from the movie Rushmore. Both of these singles were top 40 hits within the UK, and their videos received relatively heavy rotation on MTV2 and Fuse TV. The band released a third single from this album, "I Will Play My Game Beneath the Spin Light," (the title a reference to a line in the young adult book The Moves Make the Man by Bruce Brooks) solely for radio play.

During 2003, their debut album was also remastered and re-released, followed by its debut in Australia and Japan in early 2004. A limited edition EP, entitled The Holiday EP, was released soon after the album in late 2003, available only to the band's Street Team members. It contained demos from Deja Entendu, album art by artist Brian Ewing, as well as a new song - "O Holy Night." Available for only the price of postage, this EP sold out quickly, and has never been re-released. Consequently, it is extremely rare.

On December 28, 2003, New York Times music critic Kelefa Sanneh ranked Deja Entendu number 5 on his Top 10 albums of the year. Brand New were also named Alternative Press' Artist of the Year in their annual Reader's Poll. Deja Entendu was certified gold in the United States by the RIAA.

Between May 2004 and June 2005, no new material or information was publicly released to fans. During that time, however, the band signed to major label Dreamworks. Interscope Records bought out the label shortly after.

Brand New - general information

Brand New is an American rock band from Levittown, New York, formed in 2000. The band currently consists of lead vocalist, guitarist, and lyricist Jesse Lacey; guitarist Vincent Accardi; bass guitarist Garrett Tierney; rhythm guitarist, keyboardist Derrick Sherman; and drummer Brian Lane. The band was formed in 2000 in Merrick, New York and partly consists of former members of the band The Rookie Lot. Brand New has toured with many bands including Thrice, Crime In Stereo, Taking Back Sunday, Dashboard Confessional, and mewithoutYou.

The band has released three studio albums to date: Your Favorite Weapon (2001), Deja Entendu (2003), and The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me (2006).

Discography

Your Favorite Weapon (2001)
Deja Entendu (2003)
The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me (2006)

EPs
Brand New/Safety in Numbers Split EP (2002)
The Holiday EP (2003)