Today I thought I would take a break from my usual political commentary to share with you one of the greatest albums to hit the music scene in years. “The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me“, by the ex-emo outfit Brand New, is about as far from the popular definition of emo as you can get and that is a very good thing.

Before I listened to this album I was expecting disappointment. I thoroughly enjoyed “Deja Entendu” and I did not think these guys were capable of surpassing the above-average quality of that attempt. Boy was I wrong. Just as Deja greatly surpassed “Your Favorite Weapon“, “The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me” is a new Milestone for this band.

I decided to wait a while to write this review. Like Deja, TDAGARIM took a couple of listens to fully appreciate. At the same time, “Deja Entendu” quickly began loosing its appeal as I listened to it more and more. The new album does not have this problem. I have probably listened to the CD over fifteen times and it has failed to get old. Not only that, but every song gets played each time. There are some gems in “Degausser”, “Millstone”, “Sowing Season”, “Limousine”, “You Won’t Know”, and “Luca” but the album as a whole can be played from beginning to end without the slightest thought of skipping a track. This is a very rare trait in the music industry today, considering the constant repetition you hear on the radio and MTV.

So why is this album so good? The simple answer is that everything meshes together very well and, at the same time, does not sound repetitive. The guitars are amazing and Vincent Accardi definitely deserves credit for that. The bass rhythms provide a solid and creative backbone in every song they are present, in some places even out doing the guitar solo’s that are supposed to be more prevalent. And then theres the vocals, full of emotion and thought (as you would expect from frontman Jesse Lacey), but theres something more. A meaningfulness that can be found nowhere else in music today. And thats what makes this album great. The meaningfulness. It is very rare to find musicians who love what they do. Sure there are those who love the money and fame, but do they really love the music they play? These guys do and thats why they are going to be around for a long time.