For some reason, Brand New has never been written about on The FADER, unless you count a half-sentence mention in a short blog post about a Modern Baseball song. Well that's changing today, kind of. Jesse Lacey, the fiercely beloved rock band's enigmatic frontman, recorded a song for the latest installment of his friend Kevin Devine's split series, a project that has previously featured contributions from artists like Tigers Jaw, Cymbals Eat Guitars, and Meredith Graves.
For this two-song release, which drops on March 25 with some very OVO-esque cover art, both dudes took on R.E.M. songs. Lacey's long been known to channel emotional ’80s vocalists, so he sounds at home covering "Bad Day," a politically bleak and rhythmically buoyant sort-of protest song that technically predates the similar-sounding "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)." Check it out below, and order the split—which includes Devine's version of "Imitation of Life," plus liner-note musings from both songwriters—right here.